A duodenal ulcer occurs when a bacterium known as H. pylori affects the part of the stomach known as the duodenum and the treatment of which requires undergoing a four to eight week course of using medications or other means to suppress acid production. A further week may also be needed during which the patient must take antibiotics along with a medication to suppress acids after which the duodenum will be cleared of its H. pylori infection. This type of treatment gives surety of non occurrence the ulcers.

The different causes of duodenal ulcer?

It pays to also understand what causes duodenal ulcers. The digestion of food and killing of bacteria is done by the acid in the stomach. Unfortunately, this acid can be very corrosive and if too much of it is produced it will end up corroding the lining of your stomach wall as well as the duodenum and so can damage this lining – thereby causing duodenal ulcer to form. There is also a rarer cause for duodenal ulcer which is known as the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome where again excess acid is produced in the stomach and even factors such as stress; smoking as well as excessive consumption of alcohol will lead to onset of duodenal ulcers.

When duodenal ulcer occurs the symptoms of it are typically seen as experiencing pain in the upper regions of the abdomen and below your breastbone and this pain come and then goes. And, it may occur prior to eating or even when you start feeling hungry. The pain can be eased by eating food on one hand or by taking of antacids on the other hand.

Other symptoms of duodenal ulcer include bloating and vomiting as well as feeling nauseous and in a few instances even eating food exacerbates the pain. You need to also be careful about duodenal ulcer complications which can be very serious and include bleeding ulcers, and perforation of the duodenum wall which in turn leads to severe pain and is considered a medical emergency situation.

Not so long ago, duodenal ulcer was often treated by surgery though once it was established that this condition is caused by H. pylori bacteria use of acid-suppressing medications became the preferred method of treatment.

The numbers of people suffering from duodenal ulcer is continuously rising. One way to treat and prevent worsening of the condition is through taking a proper duodenal ulcer diet that helps to improve the effects of a prescribed treatment. Such diets must of course exclude any kind of food and beverage that causes further acidity in the stomach.