What Causes Gastric Ulcers?
A room’s not a room unless there are 3 walls around it. Some will have 4, but you can get by with 3 and still have a room. Now your stomach’s not a room, but it has walls to it although there’s not a 90-degree angle to be found anywhere in there. But you also aren’t at risk of getting gastric ulcers on the walls of your living room. That would be quite a disturbing yet amazing sight if you did, but in all seriousness, some people would have a reason to ask what is gastric ulcer. We’ll get to that but be aware that the walls of your stomach see a lot of messiness that rooms of your home never do.
The logical place to start any discussion of what is gastric ulcer or what causes gastric ulcers is with how the digestive juices that are produced in the stomach are absolutely essential to the start of the food digestion process. These gastric juices are made up of water, electrolytes, enzymes, mucus, and – last but not least – hydrochloric acid. That acid is quite possibly the most essential ingredient, but it’s also the one that causes the most problems when the stomach lining isn’t what it needs to be.
When it’s healthy and working like it should the mucosal lining of the stomach serves as a barrier between the organ tissue and the hydrochloric acid that’s working hard to break down the food you’ve eaten. When it’s not that’s when the barrier isn’t what it needs to be, and the acid begins to burn an opening into the stomach walls. It’s a problem, it’s painful, and taking a proton pump inhibitor treatment medication like Prevacid becomes a priority.
Skip Spicy
Hydrochloric acid beginning to eat away at the tissue is the basis of what is gastric ulcer. They’re also called peptic ulcers, and other considerations for what causes gastric ulcers can be H. Pylori bacterial infections. People with Crohn’s disease may be more likely to have gastric ulcers and you also have more of a chance of them if you take a lot of anti-inflammatory medicine over a short period of time. Excessive NSAID use can be a part of what causes gastric ulcers too.
The biggest concern with a stomach ulcer is if it’s able to progress to the point that ulcer perforation occurs. It has nothing to do with what is gastric ulcer, but the verb to perforate means to create a clear opening through any previously impassable section or entirety of a material of any sort. So, if you have a gastric ulcer that has perforated your stomach wall you are potentially in a whole lot of trouble with stomach acid and food escaping into your abdominal cavity.
All points to keep in mind with what is gastric ulcer, and the last thing we will mention here is foods that can trigger stomach acid buildup – chocolate, tomatoes, fatty or spicy foods, and coffee.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The above information is intended to increase awareness of health information and does not suggest treatment or diagnosis. This information is not a substitute for individual medical attention and should not be construed to indicate that use of the drug is safe, appropriate, or effective for you. See your health care professional for medical advice and treatment.
