What you DIDN’T know about Ulcers _Abet Tonny (Mak. Biomedical Scientist), tonnyabet@gmail.com/+256774633876

In the breath of science, ulcer is simply an open sore on an external or internal surface of the body, caused by a break in the skin or mucous membrane. The most common types of ulcers are peptic ulcers, gastric ulcers and duodenal ulcers.

The less common ones are the mouth and eye ulcers. For this case, we are focused on the stomach. Stomach ulcers are painful sores that can be found in the stomach lining or small intestine. Stomach ulcers are the most visible sign of peptic ulcer disease. They occur when the thick layer of mucus that protects your stomach from digestive juices is reduced, thus enabling the digestive acids to eat away at the lining tissues of the stomach.

 In the area of a gastric or duodenal peptic ulcer, the mucosa has been attacked by digestive juices to such an extent as to expose the subjacent connective tissue layer (submucosa). This “self-digestion” occurs when the equilibrium between the corrosive hydrochloric acid and acid-neutralizing mucus, which forms a protective cover on the mucosal surface, is disturbed. Mucosal damage can be promoted by Helicobacter pylori bacteria that naturally colonize the gastric mucus.

There is yet no clear evidence to suggest that the stress of modern life or a steady diet of fast food causes ulcers in the stomach and small intestine, but they are nonetheless common in our society today.

About one in every 20 people in the world suffers from peptic ulcers in the form of burning, gnawing abdominal pain of a peptic (or gastric) ulcer at some point in life.

Complications Associated with Stomach Ulcers include

• sudden, sharp pain that doesn’t stop
• black or bloody stools
• bloody vomiting
• vomit that looks like coffee grounds

These could be signs that the ulcer has eroded through the stomach, or broken a blood vessel. Scar tissue development is another possible complication. The tissue can prevent food from moving from the stomach into the small intestine.