It is no secret that the rhythm of modern life, which includes poor, improper and irregular nutrition, constant and severe stress and attempts to relieve them by “taking on the chest”, leads to problems with the stomach. At first it’s gastritis, which most people, all the more not inclined to regular health checks, do not pay attention. Gastritis logically develops into an ulcer - at this stage, the problems are so painful that they force you to go to the clinic. But in the case of a stable remission, people again relax and cease to comply with dietary prescriptions, limit themselves to excesses and follow medical advice. And here is where an insidious beast lies in wait - a perforated ulcer.
What is perforation?
A perforated ulcer, in principle, is the final stage of an ordinary one, whether it is a lesion of the stomach or intestines. In simple terms, perforation is eating through the wall of the affected area of the intestine or stomach through. Through the resulting “hole”, everything that you ate or drank, together with the acidic gastric juice, actually “falls” into the unprotected abdominal cavity. And if urgent measures are not taken, then, we can say, a slow, unpleasant and painful death begins.
Causes of perforation
It is clear that the minimum condition for the appearance of a perforated ulcer is the presence of a peptic ulcer itself , albeit not badly healed. But, sadly enough, ulcers need to be vigilant all their lives, doubling them in spring and autumn. The provoking factors for the exacerbation and further sad development of the familiar disease is what the doctors also routinely warn against. We can say that perforation is a strain (both in the sphere of emotions and in the sphere of relations), busting with alcohol, overeating, and with the advantage of fatty, heavy, fried and spicy foods, is exactly what the attending physician tried to save you from. Oddly enough, physical stress is also included in the list of potential dangers, especially if you do not engage in (pedantic!) Sports and rarely participate in hard physical work.
Danger signs
In the very first moments, a person with a perforation is faced with unbearable pain. It appears from the fact that the delicate constituents of the peritoneum have encountered aggressive filling of the stomach or duodenum (food and stomach acids). In the first moments, perforation is acute, causing tears and twisting pain in an arc, not without reason called dagger, or knife. The danger is that it will hardly weaken (it creates a feeling that the whole stomach hurts, but is much weaker), the person comes to the conclusion that he just had a peptic ulcer, and there is no need for a doctor. However, the process does not stop. On rotting food that has fallen into the cavity, bacteria multiply, exacerbating the cause that the perforation started. This means that after 24 hours peritonitis is secured to the ulcer, which even in our times is overwhelmingly fatal. The abdomen becomes hard, touching it is very painful, the tongue is too dry, the pulse drops, the temperature rises. The closer to peritonitis, the more pronounced signs.
Perforation of the intestine is not much different from perforation of the stomach. Is that the development of peritonitis will be a little slower. But in the absence of qualified medical care, the result will be one - a slow and painful death. So at the first suspicion that you may have perforation of the ulcer, not paying attention to which organ is affected by it (stomach or intestine), immediately call "ambulance". With timely intervention, the chances of life are very, very high.