In the last post we emphasized the need to rule out any heart related ailments if you have crossed 35 years of age and if your pain is more on the upper left side of the body closer to where your heart is. And we also added that if you have a family history of heart attack, hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes, and over and above if you also drink and smoke, then you get yourself checked for any heart related ailments first.
Every ailment has a moderate start and peptic ulcers are no exception to the rule. 90% of the people present themselves to the doctor only after complaining of pain. The pain could either be mild / dull or intense or a rather slowly progressing pain on the upper abdomen area. Generally a feeling of a heart burn should ring alarm bells. More clearly, if there is a burning sensation or pain somewhere in between the chest and the belly button; it can be signs of ulcer. The burning sensation or pain either lasts for few minutes or can last for few hours. This sensation of course can recur.
Ulcer not only affects the stomach lining, the upper part of the small intestine may also receive such ulcers. Ulcer may also occur in Esophagus (food pipe), rectum and other GI parts also. Ulcer to the stomach and the upper small intestine is medically referred as Peptic Ulcer.
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