Stomach Ulcers – Common Conditions

Transcript

One thing in particular I would want to mention that I think is very important in reference to ulcer disease is that you know, you have blood vessels in every portion of your body. That includes your stomach. And if you have an ulcer, which is like a cut or a sore and it erodes or if it hits a blood vessel, naturally the blood vessel can bleed. It could be a circumstance where the blood vessel is, there’s just a slight erosion and so person may lose blood. It’s very small amount and that can go on for an extended period of time resulting in anemia or low blood count. The patient may or may not complain of pain. And we actually see this more so let’s say in older individuals. And you may ask, well, why is that older person presents with an ulcer but yet they don’t really have the classic abdominal pain? Well, think about it. All right, What do we know? Older persons have a tendency to have arthritis or back pain. And so they take those NSAIDs, or anti-inflammatory medications or if they have to take aspirin for their heart. And we’ve mentioned that those medications can cause those ulcerations, but what else do we know about aspirin, Motrin, Aleve, et Cetera? They’re used to treat pain. Now it’s no wonder why a person could be consuming aspirin, Motrin, Aleve, et Cetera, developing ulcer, but yet they don’t complain of classic paid because you’re actually taking a medication that treats pain.