Besides pain, an ulcer can cause three other well-known difficulties.

1. Serious bleeding of an ulcer may occur. This is recognized by vomited blood or black, tarry stools.

2. Blowout (Penetration) of the ulcer produces immediate severe abdominal pain, a grave medical situation.

3. Obstruction to passage of any food caused by long-standing ulcer is recognized by persistent vomiting, and continuous abdominal distress.

Neglect of an ulcer can lead to these serious consequences. On the other hand, it is easy for a competent physician to accurately diagnose an ulcer by evaluating symptoms, examining the patient, and x-raying his stomach. Ulcer care consists of diet, medication and possibly surgery. The ulcer diet excludes ulcer provoking foods, such as spicy, greasy and rough, popcorn-like foods. Medications used in ulcer care are mainly acid blotters and neutralizers, plus drugs, designed to slow down over-activity of the stomach. At least five out of every six ulcers are successfully treated with diet and medication, while the person goes about his daily work routine. About one ulcer out of ten becomes so severe that it can’t heal, and then surgical operations, which have gained high respect, become necessary.

The physician’s advice for ulcer difficulty is most important even after an ulcer is cured. The patient must be informed concerning diet, the advisability of using tobacco and alcohol, and all other items that have an influence upon ulcer disease. Occasionally, an ulcer patient will refrain from seeing his physician because he fears the cure might be worse than the disease. However, most successful patients have just one regret-that they did not seek expert medical treatment for their ulcer earlier than they did.

Keywords: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,