A stomach ulcer is a long-lasting lesion on the mucous membrane that can bring a lot of problems and anxiety to its owner. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people become victims of this disease, and the overwhelming majority of them are wealthy, wealthy citizens, the so-called “white collars” who are unable to eat right due to a busy work schedule and are constantly exposed to stress. If untreated, peptic ulcer disease is fraught with a variety of complications, including fatal ones. MedAboutMe provides “harmful” advice that can accelerate the onset of a variety of negative consequences.

Death from bleeding

Internal bleeding in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract is the most common consequence of peptic ulcer disease. Unlike erosions, which deform the gastric mucosa only superficially, the ulcer often captures the submucosal layer, gradually deepening and growing when conditions are favorable for this. These include smoking, alcohol abuse, sour, spicy, peppery, salty foods. If the defect reaches the vessel feeding the stomach tissue and violates the integrity of its walls, then the blood flow will be disrupted, and some of the blood will begin to flow into the stomach cavity.  

The larger the vessel, the more blood a person can lose, so the prognosis in this case will depend on how quickly he notices dangerous symptoms and seeks help from a doctor. It is necessary to pay attention to the appearance of severe weakness, drowsiness, dizziness, cold sweat, increased heart rate. Abundant filling of the stomach with blood can provoke vomiting, and the color of the vomit will be dark brown due to a reaction with hydrochloric acid. Black stools are another sign of bleeding in the stomach or intestines.

Ulcer perforation

Ulcer perforation occurs in 10-15% of cases, and in half of such patients who do not follow the doctor’s recommendations and continue to abuse semi-finished products and concentrates, eat dry food, leaning on smoked, fried foods, chemically and mechanically irritating food, repeated relapses occur. With this complication, the ulcer grows and deepens so much that it simply “eats” the walls of the stomach, forming a through hole in this organ. As a result, its contents, along with food and gastric juice, flow outward, that is, into the abdominal cavity.

The risk of death in this case and death from peritonitis ranges from 5 to 17.9%, so it is so important to seek medical help as soon as possible. A perforated ulcer causes severe, sharp pain in the upper part of the epigastrium or the navel. In this case, a spasm of the abdominal muscles develops, and they are so tense that they form the so-called “wooden stomach”.  

What is penetration fraught with for the body ?

This is another dangerous complication of stomach ulcers, which occurs in 10-15% of cases. At risk are young men about 40 years old, leading an irregular lifestyle and having a long history of pathology. During penetration, the walls of the stomach literally fuse with the walls of another adjacent organ, as a result of which the ulcer gradually penetrates into its cavity. Most often, the pancreas becomes the target organ, less often the bile ducts and liver, intestines. A long-term non-healing ulcer defect can create favorable conditions for penetration , which, provided that the acidity of the gastric juice is stable, it affects the layers of the stomach deeper and deeper.

An obligatory component of this mechanism is the adhesive process, as a result of which the distance between adjacent organs is significantly reduced. Penetration is considered less dangerous than a perforated ulcer, but it can also cause the death of a patient from acute pancreatitis. The main symptom of this complication is abdominal pain, which becomes constant and does not depend on the time of day and food intake. If the ulcer penetrates the pancreas, it will hurt in the right lumbar region, possibly with girdle pain. With the defeat of the lesser omentum, discomfort is felt on the right, but higher, closer to the shoulder. A signal about the involvement of the large intestine in the process will be pain in the navel.

Pyloric stenosis with gastric ulcer

A stomach ulcer that develops in the final section of this internal organ, where it connects with the duodenum, can lead to the development of pyloric stenosis or pyloric stenosis. The gatekeeper plays an important role in the digestion process, responsible for the regular and portioned evacuation of food from the stomach to the intestines. It looks like a narrow channel, equipped with muscle rings, which, when contracted, close the intestinal cavity from the stomach cavity, and when relaxed, transport the contents of the stomach further along the gastrointestinal tract.

Against the background of a chronic stomach ulcer, this organ narrows and deforms, ceases to fulfill its task at 100%. Its tissues are scarred, constricting the gatekeeper’s canal and interfering with the natural passage of food. As a result, a person feels heaviness and pain in the stomach, he is tormented by sour belching, nausea, a feeling of overcrowding. Only vomiting brings relief, but at the last stage, when the communication between the stomach and intestines is completely disrupted, even it does not improve the condition of the patient, who is in an extreme degree of exhaustion. Of course, pyloric stenosis rarely leads to patient death. It is possible only from exhaustion with severe neglect of the disease.

Stomach cancer prognosis

Peptic ulcer disease significantly increases the risk of cancer, which kills up to 800,000 people every year. The bacterium Helicobacter pylori plays a special role in the development of a malignant tumor . Causing histological changes in the mucous surface, it increases the risk of developing cancer by 2.5 times. This disease has the highest mortality rate – second after lung cancer. Moreover, most often the disease is diagnosed in men who abuse salt, pickled, smoked, fried and spicy foods, as well as alcoholic beverages, in particular, vodka.

Therefore, it is so important for everyone suffering from stomach ulcers to undergo regular examinations, observing the course of the disease. Of particular concern should be problems with digestion, decreased appetite, increased fatigue, decreased performance, anemia, and weight loss. Vomiting, feeling full even after eating a small amount of food should be a reason to see a doctor. At a late stage associated with the disintegration of the tumor, internal bleeding, pain, and stool retention are possible.