Page contents
- What is an ulcer
- symptoms
- Causes and risk factors
- Multiples
- Diagnosis
- treatment
- protection
Stress ulcer is a multiform superficial ulcer that occurs mainly in one of the parts of the upper digestive system, especially in the bottom of the stomach, and the ulcer usually develops after exposure to a medical condition represented by shock as a result of the body’s exposure to enormous pressures, for example what happens to the body from pressures while it is in intensive care .
Doctors sometimes call a stress ulcer a stress-related mucosal damage, which is due to the tears that occur in the mucous membranes of the affected organ.
Stress ulcers are completely different from stomach ulcers, where the clear difference between them is that the stress ulcer appears suddenly as a result of severe physical stress, while stomach ulcers begin gradually due to various physical patterns and causes.
Some acidic foods affect stress ulcers severely, as they increase stomach acid, causing severe complications.
Stress ulcer symptoms
Usually, no symptoms are felt as a result of stress ulcers in mild cases, but if the case is advanced and the rate of mucous membrane erosion in the upper digestive system is large, the symptoms are as follows:
1. Ulcer symptoms of general distress
The general symptoms of ulcers were as follows:
- Pain in the upper part of the stomach, and this pain improves at times and worsens at other times when eating some types of food, so the patient can easily identify foods that irritate the condition.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Shortness of breath, and pale skin in case of anemia as a result of bleeding ulcers.
- A feeling of fullness and bloating greatly, causing discomfort and heaviness to the patient.
2. Symptoms of a stress ulcer that needs to go to the hospital quickly (emergency)
The danger of anguish ulcer lies in the bleeding that it causes, and if the bleeding is severe, the need for emergency is urgent, and it can be distinguished that the case is an emergency through the appearance of the following symptoms:
- Vomiting blood in a known red color or vomiting in a color close to black, and doctors liken it to the color of coffee.
- Bowel movements are very unpleasant and exaggerated.
- The acidity in the mouth is very severe.
- Severe pain.
- dizziness or fainting;
Causes and risk factors for stress ulcers
Let's learn about the causes of anguish ulcer and the factors that motivate its infection:
1. Causes of anguish ulcer
The main causes of stress ulcers are the following:
- Experiencing severe physical stress
Severe physical stress results from several causes, most notably the practice of multiple activities beyond the body's energy, exposure to stressful physical pressures while treating the body from some diseases, and exposure to burns or head injuries severely stressing the body.
This stress leads to a shock to the body, causing the stomach to secrete too much acid, resulting in stress ulcers.
- Stress
Stress, anxiety and loading the body. Continuous psychological stress leads to an ulcer of distress, and this is not limited to adults. In 2018, a child was infected with anguish ulcer after he went to nursery for a month despite his refusal to do so. The psychological pressure that the child was exposed to as a result of being forced to go to nursery led This pathology.
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2. Factors that increase the likelihood of developing stress ulcers
The most prominent of these factors were the following:
- Helicobacter pylori infection
This infection leads to many changes in the digestive system, increasing the proportion of stomach acids and increasing sensitivity to some foods, and this is what makes it one of the main factors in increasing the possibility of developing anguish ulcer.
- Take some medicine
There is a group of drugs that stimulate the development of stress ulcers, most notably: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and pain relievers.
Complications of anguish ulcer
The most prominent complications of anguish ulcer were as follows:
1. Anemia
If the bleeding in the upper digestive parts is very severe, the ulcer will be associated with anemia, which results in many severe symptoms, most notably dizziness and fainting.
2. Death
Death occurs as a result of severe anemia and the inability to control and treat it, and this is a very rare complication.
Diagnosis of anguish ulcer
Stress ulcers are diagnosed in the following ways:
- endoscopy
The diagnosis is made endoscopically as soon as the doctor knows the symptoms that the patient is suffering from, and the endoscopy is done in the following steps:
- Inserting a thin tube carrying a camera at its end connected to a magnifying screen to the upper areas of the digestive system, and this is done precisely to prevent wounds in the parts of the body through which the tube passes.
- Watching the changes in the upper digestive system, and through what the doctor sees, the condition is diagnosed.
- blood tests
The blood tests come after the endoscopy of the anguish ulcer, and their aim is to detect the presence of risk factors, if any, as well as to detect the complications that afflicted the body as a result of this ulcer. The most prominent of these tests are the following:
1. Serum test for H. pylori bacteria
Antibodies to H. pylori are looked for, and if present, the doctor identifies and treats the factor that triggered the infection.
2. Complete blood test
The comprehensive blood test is addressed to find out the hemoglobin level in the blood, to see if the ulcer has led to anemia, and the white blood cell count is determined from this test, the high of which means the presence of a bacterial infection in the body.
canker sore treatment
The main goal of treating stress ulcers is to reduce stomach acid and reduce the risk of serious infection, bleeding and shock. Treatment is usually done in the following ways:
1. Treatment with Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)
Proton pump inhibitor medications are medications that are prescribed to reduce stomach acidity, and you must adhere to taking the medications as prescribed by the doctor, because stopping them suddenly leads to the opposite result as the acid increases.
2. Histamine-blocker drugs
These medications also aim to reduce stomach acid. Notable examples include:
- Famotidine
- Cimetidine.
3. Treating heartburn complications
The doctor may describe a group of other treatments that address complications resulting from ulcers, the most prominent of which are the following:
- pain killers.
- Iron pills, and these pills must be taken alongside a diet that increases hemoglobin levels in the blood to treat anemia.
Prevention of canker sores
Stress ulcers can be prevented by following the following guidelines:
- Take prescription proton pump inhibitors and histamine blockers after a severe stress shock. This prevents stress ulcers, and this precaution is widely followed by doctors in emergency situations.
- Avoid exposure to severe psychological stress and control it as much as possible by practicing yoga and deep breathing exercises, for example.
- Conducting laboratory tests in case of suspicion of a strike caused by H. pylori bacteria, this contributes to treating the bacteria before it causes ulcers.
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