Most often, if a person complains of pain in the stomach after eating, an acute ulcerative process is found in him with detailed diagnostic tests. A stomach ulcer is an acute inflammation of the mucosa, i.e. the very inner lining of the stomach, in which, in addition to inflammatory phenomena, there are areas with exposed, eroded surfaces where this mucous membrane does not exist.
The mechanism of development of both gastric ulcers and duodenum ulcers is still considered an open question in medicine. It is believed that the so-called aggression factors play a significant role in the development of ulcers, which during exacerbation prevail over specific defense factors present in the stomach. The first include hydrochloric acid, bile acids, pepsin. The infectious factor represented by the bacterium H. pylori can also be included here. The protective mechanisms hidden in the walls of the stomach include mucus secreted in it, good regenerative abilities of the mucosa, abundant blood supply to this area, and the synthesis of prostaglandins. In a healthy body, aggression factors are always in balance with defense factors.
In violation of this balance, pain in the stomach occurs. Symptoms that accompany peptic ulcer disease, however, are not limited to pain effects alone. Often in individuals suffering from an ulcer, dyspepsia syndrome can be observed. It is characterized by the appearance of heartburn, belching, a feeling of nausea, which with strong sensitivity can turn into vomiting, a feeling of fullness in the stomach, etc. However, pain in the epigastric region is considered leading in peptic ulcer disease; it is possible to roughly determine the localization of a peptic ulcer.
If the pain does not occur immediately after eating, but after some period of time, after two to three hours or at night, then consider that the ulcer is in the duodenum or duodenum. If the patient has pain in the stomach after eating almost immediately or after 30-60 minutes, then the defect will most likely be located in the stomach itself. Pain may well provoke errors in the diet when a person eats spicy or overcooked food. Sometimes an ulcer can simulate heart disease, for example, an attack of cardiac asthma, angina pectoris, or even a heart attack.
If the patient constantly feels pain in the stomach after eating and has been diagnosed with peptic ulcer, he should immediately begin active treatment. It should always be remembered that stomach ulcers are more likely to have complications than the same duodenal defects. With a stomach ulcer, stenosis of the pylorus (pylorus) is very quickly formed, which very negatively affects the patient's condition. Stenosis inhibits the normal evacuation of food taken and digested in the stomach, it stagnates for a long time in it, wanders around, and provokes vomiting. Even if a person eats, food is not completely absorbed. The patient begins to lose weight catastrophically and lose strength. Continuous pain in the stomach after eating or arising independently of it may indirectly indicate a degeneration of the ulcerative process into cancer. The percentage of transformation of stomach ulcers into cancer is very high.
What to do with stomach pain? The only answer is to go to the doctor and be examined. This will help to quickly detect a pathological lesion and begin a course of active antiulcer therapy. It includes a number of basic principles:
- strict adherence to a diet, which is based on the maximum sparing of the walls of the gastric mucosa;
- abandonment of existing bad habits;
- physical and, most importantly, emotional peace during intensive treatment;
- drug treatment that reduces excessive gastric secretion, protects the mucous membrane, has a detrimental effect on H. Pylori, restores motor function and gastric emptying.