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Undiagnosed peptic ulcers are a pain in the stomach
CDC says many suffer needlessly
October 23, 1997
Web posted at: 9:58 p.m. EDT (0158 GMT)From Correspondent Al Hinman
ATLANTA (CNN) -- Statistics indicate that at some point in their lives, 25 million Americans will develop an ulcer. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that most of them suffer needlessly.
The reason, the CDC says, is that most ulcers are not properly treated.
A recent study by the agency shows that half of those who suffer for the first time from peptic ulcers -- ulcers of the stomach -- are not being tested and are not being properly treated.
As a result, they take over-the-counter medications, which treat the symptoms of ulcers rather than the cause.
"Nine out of ten ulcers are caused by a bacteria, H. pylori," said Dr. Benjamin Gold of the CDC. "So therefore, ulcers are caused by an infection which can be treated with antibiotics, and cured."
But according to the CDC, most people think ulcers are caused by eating spicy foods or smoking or stress, and should be treated with antacids or over-the-counter medications.
"We need to make people think not about controlling their ulcer, but about being able to cure their ulcer," said Dr. Mitchell Cohen of the CDC.
Easy and effective tests available
The CDC doctors say that easy and effective tests are available, and should be a routine part of any examination when symptoms indicate an ulcer is possible.
But they admit that old habits die hard, and it's going to take some educating to get many doctors to change their ways.
"If we really want to be able to have an impact on some of the illness that is associated with this disease, we need to educate both the patients and the physicians," Cohen said.
Doctors say that knowing how the bacteria is spread may help -- the latest suspect is the common housefly -- but the best long-term relief will come when there is a vaccine that prevents ulcers.
Related stories:
- Researcher thinks houseflies spread ulcer-causing bacteria - August 28, 1997
- Bacteria, not stress, causes ulcers, research shows - August 30, 1996
- Researchers find cancer-ulcer link - July 24, 1996
- Pepcid curbs ulcer risk of pain-killers - May 29, 1996
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