Peptic Ulcer Treatment: What Your Doctor Will Tell You

Peptic ulcers are due to sore spots in the lining of the esophagus. The main symptom is of burning pain due to stomach acid reacting with the sore spot. This pain may occur at any point between the mid-points of the abdomen (around the navel) to the upper chest. Ulcers may also occur elsewhere in the gastrointestinal system. Ulcers can result from infection by bacteria called helicobacter pylori, which may be transmitted in food, via saliva, or water. Smoking and alcohol use, contrary to some early notions, are not thought to be major contributors to the formation of ulcers, though they may aggravate them. Other causes include the use of certain medications like aspirin and the class of pain-killers called NSAIDs.

Symptoms

Symptoms apart from pain may include vomiting (sometimes bloody), bloody stool, and loss of appetite, but these symptoms typically only occur in the most extreme cases. There is also the danger that a ulcer can cause various serious complications like the ulcer spreading to organs near the gastrointestinal tract, like the liver. It is important, therefore, that treatment should be sought by people suffering from peptic ulcers. Peptic ulcer treatment begins with being diagnosed by a physician.

Diagnosis

The doctor will ask certain questions about the signs and symptoms and that will help to form a conclusion later on. Certain things like how long after a meal the pain occurs are important in judging where in the gastrointestinal tract the ulcers are. In severe cases an upper endoscopy may be needed to diagnose. This procedure involves inserting a camera into the esophagus so that the doctor can get a look at the damage caused by the ulcer.

Treatment

The majority of ulcers are caused by the helicobacter pylori bacteria; therefore treatment may involve prescribing antibiotic medication. Amoxicillin and tetracycline are popular peptic ulcer treatments. Acid-blockers may also be prescribed to ease symptoms. Acid blockers neutralize the acids in the stomach thus preventing them from aggravating the site of the ulcer. In many cases a change in diet is the best way to stop the progress of peptic ulcers. Highly acidic foods should be avoided, as should most solid foods until the ulcer has healed. If the ulcer is highly advanced, to the point where it eaten all the way though the wall in the gastrointestinal tract, will require surgery to repair the hole, which is also called a "perforation."

For more information on peptic ulcer treatments, please visit: http://www.stomachulcertreatment.org/

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Peptic Ulcer - 4 Key Points on Patient Education

Patient education regarding causes, risk factors, and therapy of peptic ulcer disease is very essential for ulcer healing and for preventing ulcer recurrence. In this article, I'm focusing on 4 key points on peptic ulcer disease (PUD) patient education. The aim of this article is to help healthcare professionals who deliver (PUD) patient education to be prepared with the required knowledge, and so to "be informative" for their patients.

1- Set treatment goals in participation with the patient.

The main treatment goals for peptic ulcer diseases are:

Relief of ulcer painHealing of ulcerPreventing ulcer recurrencePreventing complicationThe patient should at least understand the importance of each of the previous goals.

2- Identify and modify risk factors.

This is achieved by: first, taking patient history regarding:

presence of other illnesses,patient medication history; especially use of OTC drugs as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and use of corticosteroids, andlifestyle habits including diet, alcohol and cigarette smoking.

Then, helping the patient to modify these risk factors.

For example, modifying NSAIDs administration for peptic ulcer disease patients who are in need for NSAIDs. Another example, offering advice regarding foods and drinks to avoid by peptic ulcer patients.

3- Encourage proper medication use.

encourage compliance to the specified regimens (whether it is Helicobacter pylori eradication regimen, proton pump inhibitor PPI therapy,... etc.) and educate the patient about PUD potential complications (bleeding ulcer - perforation of stomach or duodenum - gastric outlet obstruction) that might occur if these regimens are not followed properly. And make sure that the patient understands when to administer the medications. For example, PPIs should be administered 15-30 minutes before meals.
Identify potential drug - drug interactions by referring to patient medication history. Among PUD medications that may cause drug interactions are proton pump inhibitors and H2-receptor blockers.
Educate the patient about possible side effects that may make him/her stop taking the medications and how to overcome these side effects. For example, misoprostol that is used to protect the mucosa in chronic NSAID users, causes gastrointestinal effects (eg, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea). And to overcome these side effects, the patient should be instructed to decrease misoprostole dose & take it with meals.

4- Always remember that good communication with the patient improves disease management.

These are the points that I found most critical in educating peptic ulcer diseases patients. You might have other ideas regarding this topic so, please let me know them. To know more about peptic ulcer disease, please visit Peptic Ulcer Disease Concept Map.

For more diseases' concept maps, please visit Zoom out - Pharmacotherapy website where you will find large zoomed out pictures for diseases.

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