What Are Peptic Ulcers? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention

消化性溃疡是一种在消化系统中发展的酸痛。

These sores occur when the acids that help you digest food damage the walls of the stomach or duodenum, the first part of the small intestine immediately beyond the stomach.

Types of Peptic Ulcers

The most common kinds of peptic溃疡are:

Gastric ulcers这些常见的溃疡类型，这些溃疡发生在胃内部。

Duodenal ulcersThese are located at the beginning of the small intestine (called the small bowel or duodenum).

食管溃疡这些发生在食道内（将食物从喉咙带到胃的管）。

Many people with peptic ulcers don't have any signs, but upperabdominal pain是最常见的症状。

这abdominal pain可能：

• Extend from your navel up to your breastbone
• Feel worse when your stomach is empty
• 当您吃某些食物或服用时暂时感觉更好antacid.
• Get worse at night
• Come and go for days or weeks

消化性溃疡的其他症状可能包括：

• 恶心
• Vomiting of red or dark blood
• Feelingbloated或饱满
• Bloody, black, or tar-like stools
• 无法解释的减肥
• Changes in your appetite

  

For a long time, it was believed that spicy foods or stress led to peptic ulcers — but doctors now know that this isn't the case.

In fact, the most common causes of ulcers are:

• Helicobacter pylori,一种可感染胃的细菌
• 用于非甾体类抗炎药（NSAID）, such asaspirin,Advil or Motrin (ibuprofen), and啤酒ve (naproxen)，可以磨损mucus消化道层

Certain factors can put a person at a greater risk of developing a peptic ulcer, including:

• 服用high doses ofNSAIDs
• 长时间连续使用NSAIDS
• Being female
• 70岁或以上
• Having a history of ulcer disease
• 服用corticosteroids, medications that may be prescribed to治疗哮喘，关节炎或狼疮

如果您的医生怀疑您可能患有消化性溃疡，他将进行完整的病史并进行身体检查。您可能接受的诊断测试包括：

• Lab test forH. pyloriA blood, stool, or breath test may be used to determine whetherH. pyloribacteria are present in your body.
• 内窥镜检查During this procedure, a hollow tube with a lens will be passed down your throat to your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine. This will allow your doctor to look for a peptic ulcer and take abiopsy如果有。
• Barium swallow对于此测试，您将吞下一个含有钡的白色液体，该液体覆盖了您的消化道。将采用一系列的X射线消化系统，并使液体更明显。

  

Ulcers caused byHelicobacter pylori当细菌杀死时治愈。典型的治疗过程包括两周的抗生素以及酸抑制药物。接下来是另外四到八周的酸抑制药物。

It’s possible for an ulcer to heal temporarily without antibiotics, but it will likely recur or another one will form nearby if the bacteria is not killed.

药物引起的消化性溃疡通常在您停止服用药物后不久就可以愈合。医生通常建议服用antacid.sfor two to six weeks to assist with healing and relieve pain.

Your course of treatment will be based on what's causing the ulcer.

Medication Options

可能的药物治疗包括抗生素to killHelicobacter pylori消化道中的细菌。

Your doctor may also recommendantacid.sto neutralize stomach acid and reduce pain.

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs）是阻断酸产生并促进愈合的药物。

PPI药物包括：

• Omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid)
• Lansoprazole (Prevacid)
• Rabeprazole (Aciphex)
• pantroprazole（Protonix）
• Esomeprazole (Nexium)

Acid reducers, also called H2 blockers, reduce acid production and relieve ulcer pain. These include:

• Cimetidine (Tagamet)
• 兰替丁（Zantac）
• Famotidine (Pepcid)
• Nizatidine (Axid)

Alternative and Complementary Therapies

Certain lifestyle changes can help you recover from an ulcer.

• Watch your diet.If you know that there are specific foods that make your ulcer feel worse, avoid them until your treatment is over. For many people, these include alcohol, caffeine, fatty foods, spicy foods, and chocolate.

  

• 停止吸烟。If yousmoke, you are already at increased risk of getting an ulcer. The data also shows that ulcers take longer to heal in smokers and that the ulcer medication you are taking may be less effective. Scientists don't know exactly why smoking has these negative effects.
• Take pain medication carefully.NSAID，例如aspirin,ibuprofen, and many other commonly taken drugs, are taken for pain and fever, but can cause an ulcer if used too often. NSAIDs can also prevent an ulcer from healing as quickly as you would like, so talk to your doctor about what you can take for your other aches and pains while you are waiting for your ulcer to heal.对乙酰氨基酚(泰诺）不会引起溃疡，因此可能是有效的替代品。另外，请务必阅读所有药物标签；一些cough冷液体中有NSAID成分，您也应该避免使用它们。
• Cut back on alcohol.如果您想完全降低额外溃疡的风险并帮助您的身体愈合，请停止喝酒。

Prevention of Peptic Ulcers

Using alternatives to NSAIDs, like对乙酰氨基酚，以缓解疼痛可以帮助预防肽溃疡。如果您需要使用NSAID，请选择最低剂量，然后用餐。

因感染而引起的消化性溃疡Helicobacter pyloriare not usually preventable, but goodhygienesuch as washing your hands thoroughly before eating and after using the bathroom may help limit the spread.

Left untreated, peptic ulcers can result in severe complications and emergencies.

• 内部出血当溃疡打开血管时，您的胃，食道或十二指肠可能会流血。溃疡会导致出血会随着时间的流逝而缓慢或迅速发生，可能导致出血，这可能会因冲击而威胁生命。有时您可能不会注意到出血溃疡，直到您成为贫血, a condition in which your body lacks red blood cells because of inadequate iron. This occurs when ulcers cause chronic, low-grade blood loss.
• A hole, or perforation, in the stomach wall您可以开发穿孔的溃疡，这意味着它已经通过您的胃或肠壁食用。
• 梗阻这is when you have swelling or scarring related to your ulcer that is preventing your food from being digested properly.

The signs that you are having an ulcer emergency are:

• Blood (black or red) in stool
• Blood invomit或看起来像咖啡的呕吐物
• 增加疼痛
• Weakness
• 精神混乱
• 严重的腹部延伸

如果你认为你或你认识的人有ulcer emergency, seek immediate medical attention.

最喜欢的组织获取有关消化性溃疡的基本信息

American College of Gastroenterology (ACG)

The American College of Gastroenterology is a professional association of gastroenterologists and GI professionals. Its site offers an abundance of information on peptic ulcers, including information on diagnosis and treatment, as well as a glossary of medical terms associated with the condition.

国家糖尿病和消化肾病学会（Niddk）

The NIDDK is a great resource to learn more about peptic ulcers. The site also offers advice on diet and nutrition and provides a link to search for clinical trials related to the condition.

Additional reporting byCathy Cassata。