Most Common Symptoms, Causes, and Home Remedies Of Stomach Ulcer … Be Aware!

Causes of stomach ulcers

• Helicobacter Pylori infection: Helicobacter pylori is quickly becoming the most diagnosed gastrointestinal bacterial infection in humans. These bacteria live in the stomach, withstanding its acidity, and impairing the natural mucosal defenses. This predisposes the stomach to form ulcers. Helicobacter pylori are not the sole cause of stomach ulcers, but they should be excluded especially in younger individuals.
• Analgesics: Non-steroidal analgesics are the second most common cause of peptic ulcer disease. They include medications like Aspirin, Diclofenac, Ibuprofen, and Naproxen. These medications are both acidic and impair the production of some chemical substances called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are essential for regenerating the mucosal barrier of the stomach. Nonsteroidal analgesics induced gastric ulcer is commonly seen in the elderly who are chronically medicated for arthritis. That is why doctors prescribe other medications called proton pump inhibitors with such analgesics, to decrease the stomach’s acid production and protect it from ulcers.
• Smoking: Smoking is one of the risk factors of peptic ulcers because of its damaging effects on the blood vessels supplying the stomach’s wall and the mucosal barrier integrity. It is also proven that it increases the risk of H. Pylori infection. Nicotine in cigarettes has a deleterious effect on such protection, and smokers are more liable to develop stomach ulcers the longer they smoke.
• Stressful conditions: Stress whether physical or psychological predisposes to stomach ulcers by increasing the release of corticosteroids (one of the stress hormones). Corticosteroids impair mucosal protection and diminish blood flow to the stomach wall. Medical conditions associated with gastric ulcers include:
  • Intensive care unit admission
  • Severe infection (sepsis)
  • Brain trauma
  • Brain tumors (also called Cushing ulcers)
  • Severe hypotension (a drop of blood pressure)
• Other associated diseases and conditions may be present including:
  • Gastrinoma: A pancreatic tumor that secretes a hormone called gastrin, which causes acid hypersecretion by the stomach.
  • Systemic mastocytosis: A condition in which a certain cellular subtype increases dramatically in number. These cells secrete histamine, a chemical substance that induces stomach cells to secrete acid.
  • Burns: Minor burns don’t increase the risk of stomach ulcers, but major burns are severe stressful conditions that can cause a special type of stomach ulcer known as Curling ulcer.