Friday, April 23, 2010

ulcers

What is an ulcer? Basically, an ulcer is an external or internal sore or lesion that is a sign of necrosis (death of the tissues at a cellular level). Most ulcers that plague people are called "gastric" ulcers which are internal in nature. However, there are several kinds of ulcers and they include: decubitus ulcer, peptic ulcer, serpent ulcer, gastric ulcer, duodenal ulcers, ulcerative colitis, bed sore, and canker sore (herpes).

arlington doctor

The open sores which appear in the mouth are called as mouth ulcers. They are white or yellow in color, and are generally accompanied with a sharp pain, which is felt most when the person is eating. The pain is quite acute when salty or spicy food passes over the ulcer. Mouth ulcers can occur anywhere in the mouth – on the inner surface of the cheeks, lips, tongue, palate and at the base of the gums.

Ulcers--small, open breaks or craters in the lining of the upper gastrointestinal tract--usually develop in one of two sites. The most common form in the upper portion of the small intestine and are known as duodenal ulcers; less common are those in the stomach itself, which are gastric ulcers. Surprisingly, 15 to 20 percent of bleeding ulcers occur initially without pain.

Peptic ulcer is a common disorder of the digestive system that causes inflammation, irritation and lesions to internal tissues and organs. Peptic ulcers generally occur on the premises of infection with Helicobacter pylori (bacteria that often populate the interior of the stomach), triggered by an overproduction of gastric acids and pepsin.

If you are searching for information about an effective ulcerative colitis diet, you may find yourself very confused. There is no diet for ulcerative colitis that is agreed upon by all healthcare professionals. Most eating plans that are advertised as an ulcerative colitis diet were designed by those who suffer from the disease or those who love them.

Ulcers that develop in the stomach are known as gastric or peptic ulcers. These ulcers are generally quite painful, and the pain is felt immediately after eating something. It lasts for about one to one and a half hours - this is the time taken ordinarily to digest food - and then it subsides.

Ulcers strike more than one million people in the United States alone and more than a billion people around the world. The problem with that calculation is that it is probably short of the amount of people that are actually affected by ulcers. Many people that have ulcers never realize they do because their symptoms mimic other ailments such as acid indigestion and heartburn.

For many years, ulcers were blamed on stress, unhealthy lifestyle or too much spicy food. Today, doctors know the true cause of this painful digestive order. You may not always be able to control whether or not you will suffer from ulcers, but you can find successful treatment, both from your doctor and at home.