Healthy Living gets the hard facts about ulcers
Nausea and vomiting are early signs of ulcers. This condition is mainly caused by chronic infections or the use of anti-inflammatory medications. Healthy Living this week found out that the infection is transmitted in many ways.
Marleni Cuellar, Reporting
Ulcers are commonly associated with excruciating pain and discomfort when eating certain foods. Many street theories exist as to what is the cause for stomach ulcers. Gastroenterologist, Dr. Mark Musa, defines what really causes ulcers and what we can do about them.
Dr. Mark Musa, Gastroenterologist
“An ulcer is a defect or a break in the lining of the stomach and it goes deep in the muscle layer so it leaves a crater in the stomach almost like a deep sore on the lining of the stomach. The two main causes is a chronic infection with a bacteria called the helicobacter pylori or h-pylori and this leads to chronic inflammation of the stomach and eventually ulcers form. The other main forms are medications and the common medications that do it are the anti inflammatory medications like ibuprofen, naproxen that we use for muscle and joint pain.”
For years, people have believed that stomach ulcers are caused by untimely eating, weight factors, spicy food, and stress. While these are definite aggravators for ulcers the main culprit as was recently discovered is an infection.
Dr. Mark Musa
dr. mark musa
“Twenty years ago before they realized that h pylori played such a huge role in peptic ulcers, it used to be thought of that people with type a personalities or a bit anxious or driven use to have a higher incidence of ulcers but that in many studies has been disproven. If you look at it in developing countries like Belize you’d probably have a prevalence like eighty percent of the adults having H Pylori, you would probably have an incidence of eighty percent of adults don’t have stomach problems so other factors awake the bacteria to cause damage to the stomach. So out of that eighty percent maybe fifteen percent would go on to develop gastritis, inflammation of the stomach and ulcers. It’s a very common infection and we don’t know exactly but it is transmitted multiple ways through contaminated food, water with close contact with people so more of a chronic infection; it’s not like your common gastroenteritis.”
Like gastroenteritis though, nausea and vomiting is one symptom associated with stomach ulcers. Other symptoms include heartburn, bloating and most commonly a burning sensation in the upper middle abdomen below the chest bone. More worrying symptoms, the kind that means get to your doctor ASAP includes:
Dr. Mark Musa
“Prolonged loss of appetites, you start losing weight, signs of bleeding either found incidentally if they are anemic or the patient may actually vomit blood or notice that their stool has become black or dark because four to five percent of stomach ulcers may be cancerous.”
Cancer would be the worst case scenario but other complications include bleeding and perforation of stomach. Diagnosis is best conducted through an endoscopy when the case is already severe some forms of treatment can be applied during this process as well.
Dr. Mark Musa
“For younger people, less than forty, if you’re symptoms are stable it needs investigating, but there is one approach where you do what is called test and treat where there are other ways you can test for the h-pylori. You can do a blood test and if the H-Pylori is present you can treat it.”
Most importantly is that you seek treatment or further investigation should you still maintain symptoms of ulcers.
FYI, I”m living in the US where as you know the drug industry is all about makink money, and the Hospitals want to keep us dug addicts.Well 3 years ago I was diagnosed with diabetes, and was told that that I needed medication, I did my research and treated my self for 6 month and was very consistent in taking all the natural products required to reverse the disease.I believe that everyone with the problem can do the same, but as you know that consistency is very hard to adopt. I was also diagnosed with ulser and treated it , went back to the same doctor at Kaiser and he was shocked with the test results, and asked me to give him the info because he was pre diabetic too, we kept touch and he also is cured. He added that he could not share this info with any patient because he can loose his licence.Just taught I should share that with you…these cures are all natural stuff right there in your own back yard…bye folks
FYI, I”m living in the US where as you know the drug industry is all about makink money, and the Hospitals want to keep us dug addicts.Well 3 years ago I was diagnosed with diabetes, and was told that that I needed medication, I did my research and treated my self for 6 month and was very consistent in taking all the natural products required to reverse the disease.I believe that everyone with the problem can do the same, but as you know that consistency is very hard to adopt. I was also diagnosed with ulser and treated it , went back to the same doctor at Kaiser and he was shocked with the test results, and asked me to give him the info because he was pre diabetic too, we kept touch and he also is cured. He added that he could not share this info with any patient because he can loose his licence.Just taught I should share that with you…these cures are all natural stuff right there in your own back yard…I had a troubling heartburn for about 9 years………..
The main thing that a stomach ulcer affects is the nerves surrounding it. The nerves become agitated and cause a great amount of pain.
However, stomach ulcers can cause hemorrhages from the erosion of a major blood vessel; a tear in the wall of the stomach or intestine, or obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract because of spasm or swelling in the area of the ulcer.
medication from your doctor will cure it……….
i have severe hearburns almost every two days and have tried local doctors in cayo but no results. eventually i stop the medication since they seem to hurt me more. i might try the doctors acroos the border in floresto check now. this heartburn i have it for more than 6 years now. and now the reflux is causing me throut problems even to swallow sometimes. any body knows a doctor in belize city that is affordable for a reasonable price to check in. please any info let me know. or even home remedies might work for me.
then share your secret with channel 5 nuh or publish it somewhere or give us a website…diabetes can happpen to everyone…let us in??
Belizean PRIDE: Try probiotic or Papaya Enzyme.You can also drink up the Ginger tea.
Don’t forget that OVER-EATING gives you heart burn. Eat less avoid heartburn.
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THANK YOU ELGIN MRTINEZ that’s a belizean unity we live with the mind of helping one another as a nation but not killing each other like fools. thank you so much might try papaya first if nothing for a period of time i’ll deal with the tea.