Stress ulcer is the destruction of the lining of the stomach or duodenum. This pathology is usually manifested by multiple ulcers. If timely therapy is carried out, the disease is completely curable, with perforation or bleeding, the mortality of patients is approximately eighty percent of all recorded cases.
What is a disease
Stress ulcer of the stomach is such an acute problem that doctors around the world pay great attention to its prevention. Treatment does not always begin on time, and most often the disease is complicated by life-threatening bleeding.
Pathology got its name - stress ulcer - back in 1936 because of the proven connection of somatic disorders with bleeding from the walls of the stomach. Since then, medicine has come a long way. The main danger of this pathology is that a stress ulcer does not have symptoms that allow it to be diagnosed until the very moment of bleeding.
Spawn Locations
Stress ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract can appear on any surface of the tract. Basically, these are the walls of the stomach in its widest part. Small ulcers can appear on the gastric walls in the part where it bends, just before the sphincter, which is the gate in the transition from the stomach to the duodenum, in the duodenum itself, in that part of it called the bulb.
The treatment strategy depends on the depth at which ulcers appeared, which is why special attention is paid to the localization of the lesion in the diagnosis of pathology.
Causes of pathology
Stress ulcer of the duodenum and stomach is a consequence of the impact of a stressful situation on the hypothalamus, located in the human brain, with the manifestation of a bleeding wound on the gastroduodenal mucosa.
The hypothalamus under stress produces corticosteroids that can change the amount and structure of mucus on the inner surface of the walls of the stomach. For this reason, the epithelial cells of the walls are destroyed faster. This is how wounds and then ulcers occur.
The following conditions of the body lead to stress that can destroy the walls of the stomach:
- Injury to any internal organ. Consequence of a surgical operation.
- Acute kidney or liver failure.
- Collapse caused by cardiovascular disease.
- Acute form of disease of the gastrointestinal tract. For example, cholecystitis or pancreatitis.
Corticosteroids are produced in large quantities if one stressful situation is superimposed on another. In this case, the likelihood of a stress ulcer is much higher. Pathology leads to increased secretion of gastric juice, in turn, caused by a hormone such as gastrin.
Views
Stress ulcer is dangerous not only for bleeding and perforation. It also slows down the peristalsis of the stomach, and consequently, the movement of food through the intestines. It impairs the absorption of useful trace elements, which leads to the depletion of the body and its immune system.
In medicine, there are several types of stress ulcers, treatment, respectively, depends on the type of pathology. These are post-traumatic ulcers, Curling and Cushing.
Kurgling's ulcer appears as a result of extensive burns of the body, when the patient loses a large amount of blood. Damage of this type occurs only on the walls of the duodenum.
Cushing's ulcer is a consequence of circulatory disorders in the human brain. This situation can occur after a stroke or head injury. Even elective brain surgery that went without complications can lead to wounds on the walls of the stomach.
Symptoms of pathology
An ulcer develops imperceptibly for a person, he does not feel any symptoms until a piece of food gets on the overgrown ulcer. Then there is a sharp pain. But if at the same time a person drank, for example, water, then the irritating element shifts andthe patient feels well again. Symptoms that ulcers have appeared on the walls of the stomach appear already at the stage of their bleeding or perforation into the abdominal cavity.
At the same time, the person loses consciousness, experiences severe pain in the upper abdomen. The patient vomits, filled with blood. The stool turns black from digested blood.
With these symptoms, the patient needs urgent medical attention, since in such a situation a person can die a few hours after the first attack of pain and vomiting from blood loss, peritonitis or pain shock.
Thus, it becomes clear why there is such a high mortality in patients with this pathology: the symptoms of stress ulcers of the gastrointestinal tract develop so rapidly that sometimes an ambulance simply does not have time to save a person.
Diagnosis of disease
Proper and timely diagnosis can save a person's life. The disease is detected in several stages. To begin with, the doctor collects a detailed anamnesis. Conducts an external examination, probes the abdominal cavity. After that, he directs the patient for instrumental and laboratory research.
Laboratory blood test may show inflammation or bleeding in the abdomen. The stool is checked for blood particles. The contents of the stomach and the composition of gastric juice are studied.
The main instrumental diagnostic method is esophagogastroduodenoscopy. This method is used as part of a routine examination of a patient or in situations wherean ulcer is suspected. If the patient has bleeding and is in critical condition, then this procedure is impossible.
Contrast x-rays can also show erosions and ulcers without causing accidental bleeding.
Treatment of pathology
Treatment of stress gastric ulcer is aimed not only at eliminating erosion, but also at the very cause of its appearance. Thus, this process becomes complex and lengthy. In addition, a variety of specialists take part in it - a gastroenterologist, a surgeon, a psychiatrist, a neuropathologist.
To eliminate the cause of stress, the patient is treated by a specialized specialist on an individual basis. As for the treatment of the erosions themselves, the patient should take the following medications: Pantoprazole, Dobutamin, Misoprostol, Omeprazole, Somatostatin or Sucralfate. The doctor prescribes the dosage and regimen for taking the drugs, depending on the patient's condition and the severity of his disease. Self-treatment in this case is impossible and extremely dangerous.
Therapy is also available to strengthen the body's immune system.
If the treatment was started on an emergency basis with bleeding and perforation of the ulcer, then it is carried out only surgically. During the operation, the ulcers are sutured or cauterized with a laser. In both cases, the surgeon gets access to the stomach through the anterior wall of the abdomen.
Therapeutic diet
Therapy of ulcers anderosion of the stomach is impossible without a special diet, regardless of the method of treatment. It is indicated for conservative treatment and after surgery.
First of all, foods that increase the release of hydrochloric acid are excluded from the patient's diet. These are fatty, fried meat, alcohol, coffee, carbonated drinks.
The patient's menu includes cereals, boiled fish and lean meats, vegetables, low-fat dairy products.
A person should eat in small portions, but quite often - seven to eight times a day, so as not to overload the stomach. We must not forget about the water and mineral balance in the body, so a person should drink up to two liters of pure water per day. It is water, not sweet juices, coffee or strong tea. These drinks are strictly prohibited when treating the stomach.
Prevention
Stress ulcers develop and proceed rapidly, leading to dangerous conditions, and sometimes death of a person. In this regard, the prevention of ulcers is of great importance in medicine.
Thus, with extensive burns of the body to prevent erosion, the patient is transferred to a special diet. This measure helps keep the lining of the stomach intact.
Also, preventive measures are taken for patients with traumatic brain injuries, people suffering from coagulopathy, poor blood clotting. Prophylactic treatment is given to patients with renal or hepatic insufficiency and people who have undergone surgery. Moreover, surgical intervention is not only on the abdominal organs, but also on the legs and arms,for example on the hip or knee joints.
All patients treated with corticosteroids must be prescribed prophylactic treatment of the gastrointestinal tract. Usually, in addition to a special diet, the course of such therapy includes the use of such drugs: Vinilin, Vikalin, Vikair or Sucralfat. In addition, a person takes complexes of vitamins and minerals that strengthen the immune system.
No wonder folk wisdom says that all diseases arise from nerves. You should take care of your psycho-emotional state, try to abstract yourself from stressful situations. After all, if you analyze, you can find a way out of any situation.
