You may believe, as you carry a bottle of Tums around your office, that your job is giving you an ulcer. That’s probably not true, says Suresh Mahajan, a gastroenterologist on the medical staff of Southwest General. “Mental or emotional stress is not normally a cause of peptic ulcers,” Dr. Mahajan says. “Another misperception is that ulcers are caused by spicy foods. That also is untrue.” In reality, he says, the H.pylori bacterium, and anti-inflammatory medications—like Advil or Motrin—are among the most prominent culprits that cause peptic ulcers. Below, Dr. Mahajan explains more.
A peptic ulcer refers to an ulcer, or sore, in the lining of the stomach, or in the lining of the duodenum—the first part of the small intestine. Stomach ulcers also are called gastric ulcers. A peptic ulcer can be superficial, or it can penetrate deep into the lining. Between 5 and 10 percent of people will have an ulcer sometime in their lives, and the risk increases with age.
Peptic ulcers are thought to be caused by excess acid or an imbalance of digestive fluids in the stomach, the H.pylori bacterium, or the use of anti-inflammatory medications commonly used for conditions like arthritis.
Sometimes there are no symptoms, but the most common symptoms are sharp or burning abdominal pain or heartburn. Other symptoms can include tenderness in the abdomen, or, in the case of an ulcer that has perforated the stomach or duodenum, you may vomit blood or have blood in your stool.
An ulcer can be detected with an endoscopy—or “upper GI”—but your doctor often can diagnose an ulcer based on your symptoms.
Some ulcers heal on their own, especially if you stop using anti-inflammatory medication. Other treatments include antibiotics or antacids like Prilosec, Nexium, or Zantac. In the most complicated cases, surgery may be needed.
A lingering sharp pain in your lower left abdominal area could be a symptom of diverticulitis—an inflammation or infection that occurs in the lining of the colon. In the past, surgery often was performed when a patient had as little as two attacks of diverticulitis, says Suresh Mahajan, a gastroenterologist on the medical staff of Southwest General. Today the condition is usually treated by dietary changes and antibiotics. Below, Dr. Mahajan explains more about diverticulitis.
It is common for people to develop bulging pouches called diverticula on the lining of their colon—usually the sigmoid colon, located on their left side. If these diverticula become inflamed or infected, the disease is called diverticulitis. If you have sharp lower left abdominal pain that lasts two to three hours, you should be checked for the condition.
Although severe or recurring diverticulitis may require surgery, most cases are treated with antibiotics and a change of diet. A high fiber diet is recommended to help prevent future attacks of diverticulitis as well as complications from diviticular disease.
No. It is believed that the risk of developing a more serious condition is 1 percent over 11 years.
No. Conventional wisdom once suggested that hard-to-digest foods like nuts, seeds, and corn could lodge in the diverticula and cause diverticulitis. Newer research, however, shows that those foods are not associated with an increase in risk for diverticulitis or diverticular bleeding.
Diverticulitis is usually discovered with a CT scan. Following a bout of diverticulitis, a colonoscopy is recommended to rule out the presence of colon cancer.
Maybe. Gluten sensitivity is often associated with celiac disease, a chronic autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system reacts aggressively to gluten, creating inflammation in the small intestine. When this happens, it curtails the intestine's ability to absorb important vitamins and nutrients, leading to severe health problems. Some people, however, have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Those people experience the same uncomfortable symptoms as they would with celiac disease, but their intestines continue to work normally.
Celiac disease is diagnosed with a blood test for the presence of specific gluten antibodies. If you don't have the antibodies, you don't have celiac disease.
The only way to treat celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity is to eliminate gluten from your diet. If you have celiac disease it is more important to avoid gluten because of the health problems than can result. People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity will simply want to avoid the painful or uncomfortable symptoms.
Gluten sensitivity can result in irritable bowel syndrome, excess gas, bloating, abdominal cramping, and diarrhea when gluten is consumed. In addition to those symptoms, people with celiac disease may also become anemic, lose weight and even have neurological, skin, and other disorders due to deficiencies in vitamins like B or D, or minerals like calcium. If you have these symptoms, I recommend that you see your doctor to determine whether you have celiac disease.
Dysphagia is a condition in which a person has difficulty swallowing solids, liquids, or both. Patients describe the feeling as food sticking in their throats, hanging up, or not going down.
Dysphagia can be the result of something as simple as acid reflux or as serious as a tumor. The most common causes include ulceration and spasms associated with acid reflux, allergic or eosinophilic esophagitis, or physical blockages. Swallowing problems also can be psychological or stress related, or they can result from muscular or neurological issues, such as stroke.
The two main ways to diagnose dysphagia are an upper gastrointestinal series (Upper GI) and an endoscopy. An upper GI is an X-ray that shows the doctor whether there are any blockages or scar tissue in the esophagus. An endoscope is a tiny camera that is fed down a patient's throat on a thin, flexible tube to look at the lining of the esophagus, stomach, and upper small intestine.
Depending on the cause, treatment usually involves one of three Ds: drugs, diet, or dilation. If the problem is caused by acid reflux, antacids may be suggested. Dietary changes can be made for dysphagia that is related to allergic reactions. Inflammation or scar tissue that narrows the inner circumference of the esophagus may be corrected by expanding it with an inflatable balloon.
Common symptoms include heartburn, sour regurgitation, chest pain, difficulty swallowing, and hiccups. Less common symptoms include coughing, a propensity to clear your throat, hoarseness, a sensation of something sticking in the back of your throat, and asthma symptoms.
Risk factors of reflux include being overweight, smoking, consumption of alcohol, history of irritable bowel syndrome, depression, and taking anti-inflammatory medication.
Over time, chronic reflux can result in conditions like strictures, which is scarring of the esophagus, Barrett's esophagus, which is damage to the lining of the esophagus, or even esophageal cancer.
Lifestyle modifications can help reduce the risk of reflux. Eat smaller meals, stay away from fatty and greasy foods, caffeine, chocolate, and tomato-based foods, and don't eat less than three hours before going to bed. Lose weight if you are overweight, stop smoking and avoid alcohol.
Over-the-counter antacids and prescription medications can reduce reflux by neutralizing or reducing the production of stomach acid. Surgical treatments, such as tightening of the lower esophageal sphincter to prevent upward leakage of the stomach'scontents, also are available. If you have to keep taking antacid medication for more than two weeks, you may want to talk to your doctor about it.
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