Today we will talk about the types of pain caused by an ulcer and how to deal with it. Let's start our article with a small amount of statistical information: PU and PU 12PK are very common diseases, the percentage is 10% of the total population of the planet.
A characteristic feature of peptic ulcer is pain, which can be severe or mild, typical or not typical, may be accompanied by heartburn or vomiting.
Immediately, we note that these diseases belong to the group of chronic ones, since exacerbations (relapses) occur periodically against the background of gastritis. What causes peptic ulcer disease? Of course, due to a failure in the balance of the aggressive and protective mechanisms of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines. We propose to immediately highlight these factors. Aggressive - hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes and bile acids; protective - mucus secretion, cell renewal, mucosal blood supply.
Don't try to cope with the disease yourself. It is necessary to consult a doctor. Only a competent specialist will help to establish a diagnosis and prescribeappropriate therapy. For the purpose of diagnosis, the gastroscopy procedure (EGDS) is used, of course it is very unpleasant, but completely painless and lasts no more than five minutes. This refers to the introduction of a special tube with an endoscope into the stomach. EGDS is simply necessary, as the doctor can accurately recognize the disease and, if necessary, perform a biopsy.
Rarely, but still, additional ultrasound and x-rays of the stomach are prescribed.
Causes of pain
Provocateurs of pain in peptic ulcer can be many factors. Now we list only some of them:
- irregular nutrition (with long intervals between meals, irritation of the mucous membrane of the gastric juice occurs, which causes pain);
- stress;
- smoking;
- non-compliance with the diet (if you eat fatty, smoked, s alty, pickled and the like, then there is a high probability of an exacerbation of the disease and pain);
- insomnia;
- physical or psycho-emotional overstrain;
- bacteria activity;
- using vinegar in cooking;
- coffee;
- drinking alcohol;
- pathologies that can cause ischemia of the gastric mucosa and so on.
Thus, we can conclude: the pain occurs as a result of irritation of the nerve endings in the area of the ulcer. Particular attention deserves the pain of a trophic ulcer arising from circulatory disorders. In general, a trophic ulcer is necessaryurgently treat, as it can cause the formation of a malignant tumor. The causes of the formation of such an ulcer can be disorders of the vascular system, metabolic, blood or neurological.
Localization
In what area does it hurt with peptic ulcer? A typical pain syndrome is observed in the epigastric region. They have the character of seizures, aggravated after eating, especially with regard to the time of exacerbation of the disease. Depending on where the ulcer is located, the pain will change location. Pain can be localized in different areas. For example:
- First, consider the pain of a duodenal ulcer. In this case, the pain symptom will be localized in the right upper part of the peritoneum. As a rule, it has the character of attacks, which are quite intense, at different times and can be repeated several times a day. However, there have been cases when the pain has a growing character and is quite long.
- If the ulcer is located right in the center of the stomach, then the pain symptom is felt in the epigastrium, sometimes on the left side of the abdomen.
- The ulcer located at the top of the stomach makes itself felt with pain in the form of burning and pressure behind the sternum. It is worth paying attention to the fact that they are often confused with the symptoms of an angina attack, a characteristic feature of which is pain in the region of the left shoulder blade, heart or arm. Typically, symptoms appear after eating, but it is possible to notice them after strenuous exercise.
Do not self-diagnose and self-medicate. Diagnosing a problem at home only by the nature of the pain alone will not work for you. In these cases, a gastroenterological diagnosis is simply necessary, which can only be carried out by an experienced specialist.
Pain
As it has already become clear, the symptoms of peptic ulcer of any organ of the gastrointestinal tract are very similar. Thus, only an experienced specialist will help to accurately diagnose the problem by conducting a lot of examinations. There are only a few hallmarks of duodenal ulcer and gastric ulcer that can be detected after eating.
And so, how does a stomach ulcer hurt and how long after eating can it be detected? Let's start with the fact that the pain symptom will not manifest itself within an hour after eating, and the duration of the pain depends entirely on the location of the lesion:
- cardiac - 30 minutes;
- stomach - 1 hour;
- antrum - no more than 1, 5 - 2 hours.
If you are dealing with pain from a duodenal ulcer, then you will feel its manifestations only 2 hours after eating.
Early type
This type of pain makes itself felt in the first minutes of eating. A distinctive feature is a gradual increase, anxiety for two hours, a slow decline. When food moves further through the intestines, then all the unpleasant sensations immediately go away.
This will be the pain if the localization of the lesion falls on the body of the stomach. If it is located in the cardiac or fundal regions, you will begin to experience discomfort.immediately at the time of eating.
Late type
There is also a late type of pain with an ulcer that occurs several hours after eating. They intensify when food passes into the duodenum. As it has already become clear, these pains are characteristic of the defeat of this particular organ.
Pay attention to the fact that people do not always feel any discomfort. However, many are afraid of the manifestation of a symptom of pathology and begin to eat as often as possible, which also has a bad effect on the patient's condition.
Hunger
Pain in a duodenal ulcer can also occur on an empty stomach. In this section, we will briefly discuss the so-called "hunger pains".
As mentioned earlier, peptic ulcer occurs against the background of gastritis, which can form erosion on the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract. If the latter are not treated, then the inflammatory process begins to progress, which leads to this disease.
With the pathology of the duodenum, there may be pain on an empty stomach. These spasms can also radiate to other areas of the body, such as the back or lower back. The character can also change, there is pain:
- aching;
- spicy;
- stupid.
You can notice this symptom before the main meals or five hours after them. The reason for its occurrence is excessive secretion of hydrochloric acid secretion by the glands.
Periodical pain
Pain with an ulcer can also be periodic, differentshort-lived course. They are evidence of the development of an exacerbation of peptic ulcer.
These pains pass on their own, and they are associated with sharp spasms of the stomach muscles. If such pain haunts you quite often, then you need to contact your doctor, who will conduct a medical correction.
Night pains
This character of pain is typical for duodenal ulcer and belongs to the group of "hungry" hunger. It shows up in the same way. Many ulcer patients have noticed more than once that they can wake up in the middle of the night with severe attacks. The pain in this case can have a different character:
- pulling;
- aching;
- cutting.
Relieve this symptom with a light snack or a glass of warm milk.
Acute attacks
What other pains can there be with an ulcer? Sometimes there are cases of severe attacks of acute pain. In this case, you should definitely contact your doctor, as this may indicate the process of perforation of the ulcer. This incomprehensible combination of words refers to the formation of a through hole in the stomach.
It's not worth talking about the danger of this phenomenon, the contents of the stomach provoke an inflammatory process and peritonitis. In this case, urgent hospitalization of the patient is necessary to provide emergency surgical care.
Other types of pain
We talked in great detail about howstomach ulcer hurts, but considered only typical symptoms. Pay attention to the fact that painful attacks may have other atypical localization.
- The back and lower back can hurt when gastric motility is impaired. As a rule, these pains begin to disturb the patient even before diagnosing a peptic ulcer in him. Thus, diagnosing a back pain problem can be misleading. With the development of gastrointestinal disease, pain in the back and lower back also intensifies.
- Pain in the head can occur for several reasons at once. Migraine-like sensations disturb those who take drugs for peptic ulcer disease. As a rule, these drugs are a side effect. A throbbing and painful sensation may also occur. Especially if the ulcer is accompanied by vomiting. Thus, there is a sharp influx of blood to the head vessels, and after vomiting - its outflow.
We also remind you once again that the companion of peptic ulcer is abdominal pain, which can have a different character and location. Pain can increase for several reasons, including from physical exertion. This can be explained by muscle tension that causes spasm, the result is abdominal pain. In addition to drug treatment, the pain will help relieve the pose of the embryo on its side. And with severe attacks, vomiting is possible, which contains gastric juice.
Asymptomatic course of the disease
Many people wonder: does an ulcer hurt? Is an asymptomatic course of the disease possible? Now we will try to answerthis question. This pathology may be asymptomatic at the initial stage of the formation of erosive formations.
As a rule, a neglected disease has a whole bunch of bright symptomatic manifestations. In addition, whether the patient will feel pain or not depends on several factors:
- pain threshold;
- regenerative ability speed.
Sometimes an ulcer develops latently and is found only at the chronic stage. Many patients completely ignore pain, attributing them to poor nutrition. This is the wrong tactic! The manifestation of pain is evidence of ulceration of the gastrointestinal mucosa, with symptoms, an examination is necessary.
We remove the attack
In this section, let's talk about how to relieve the pain of an ulcer. Usually, the following drugs are prescribed to combat this symptom:
- "No-shpa";
- "Gastroceptin";
- "Phosphalugel";
- "De-Nol";
- "Dicalin" and so on.
That is, several groups of drugs are involved at once (antispasmodics, anticholinergics, antacids and others).
In addition, to combat the problem, you must adhere to proper nutrition. With peptic ulcer, you should not eat foods that can irritate the mucous membrane. Meals should be at least six times a day, and one serving should not exceed one hundred and fifty grams.
Recovery period
There are a number of methods used for rehabilitation after this disease. Among them:
- exercise therapy;
- acupuncture;
- acupressure;
- balneotherapy;
- mud treatment;
- diet therapy;
- phytotherapy;
- physiotherapy.
The last concept hides a whole list of procedures, such as ultrasound, electrophoresis, laser therapy and so on. It is also recommended to carry out spa treatment, but not earlier than three months after the exacerbation.
