What is the difference between gastritis and ulcer?
Gastritis and ulcer are conditions that affect the stomach and small intestine, and share many symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and weight loss. However, there are many differences. Gastritis and ulcer are gastric gastric lining, but gastritis is general inflammation and the ulcer is a spot of eroded stomach lining. Although gastritis and ulcer share symptoms, intense, localized pain is much more common in ulcer and ulcer also carries the risk of bleeding, cancer and possible perforation of the stomach. Doctors use different techniques to diagnose any specific disease and methods of treatment also differ.
gastritis, gastric lining inflammation, has three key primary causes. The first is excessive alcohol consumption that erodes the protective mucosa of the stomach and promotes the secretion of hydrochloric acid. Using excessive doses of non -steroidal anti -inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen is another common cause because these lighteners of pain reduce capable capablestomach stomach to create prostaglandin prostaglandin, one of the lines of the stomach against hydrochloric acid. The third cause is a bacterial infection of the stomach lining. When it comes to bacteria, gastritis can become a ulcer.
Most ulcers in the stomach or duodenum, the first part of the small intestine, is the result of untreated bacterial infection. In general, 10 percent of gastritis patients develop a ulcer. Doctors still disagree with whether stress plays a role in the development of ulcers. Ulcers can become a much more serious condition, so certain tests are required for proper diagnosis.
Although blood, urine or stool sample can diagnose either gastritis or ulcer, the similarity between conditions may require patients to undergo endoscopy. In this procedure, patients are subordinate to general anesthesia before the doctor puts a narrow tube through the esophagus and stomach. With the camera at the end of the tube, the doctor checks the stomachlining and duodenum. The advantage of the procedure is that if a doctor finds a suspicious looking ulcer, it can immediately perform a biopsy for cancer. Although the patient is unconscious, endoscopy carries a low risk and is the most reliable diagnostic tool.
After the doctor has made a determination between gastritis and ulcer, treatment may vary. In gastritis, simple antacides can cause permanent relief. In more serious cases, the doctor forbids drugs that reduce stomach acid production. These drugs are known as proton pump inhibitors. Along with the subsequent regulation, patients should also avoid alcohol and NSAIDs.
Antacides are another common treatment of mild ulcers. In more serious cases, the patient will take antibiotics to cure the thus infection. For most patients, antibiotics lead to complete recovery. If the ulcer bleeds or perforates the stomach, doctors perform endoscopic surgery to repair the condition.