Acid Reflux Treatment

Symptoms and signs

Symptoms depend on the location of the ulcer and the patient’s age, many patients, especially seniors, have few symptoms or none. Pain is the most common symptom, usually located in the epigastrium and is relieved by food or antacids. The pain is described as burning, burning or hunger. The course is usually chronic or recurrent. Only about half of the patients presented the characteristic pattern of symptoms.

The symptoms of gastric ulcers do not usually follow a uniform pattern (eg., Eating often exacerbates the pain instead of alleviating it.) This is especially true in ulcers of the pyloric canal, which are often associated with obstructive symptoms (eg., Fullness, nausea, vomiting) caused by edema and scarring.

In duodenal ulcer, the pain tends to be more uniform. The pain is absent when the patient awake, but appears at mid-morning, is relieved by food but recurs 2-3 h after the meal. The pain wakes the patient at night is common and highly suggestive of duodenal ulcer.

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of peptic ulcer is suggested mainly by history and confirmed by the studies described below. Stomach cancer may present with similar and must be discarded, especially in older patients who have weight loss or refer particularly severe or refractory symptoms. Endoscopy, cytology and multiple biopsies are reliable means of distinguishing the malignant gastric ulcers benign. (more…)