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Stomach ulcers -- common, but still serious
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Yeltsin
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| ALSO: | |
| Yeltsin's doctors to treat ulcer with drugs, not surgery | |
In this story:
- Treatment includes medication, surgery
- Aspirin may make stomach lining weaker
- Related stories and sites
Web posted at: 2:16 p.m. EDT (1816 GMT)
From Medical Correspondent Dan Rutz
(CNN) -- Russian President Boris Yeltsin's latest medical problem is not unusual. In the United States, one out of 10 people develops stomach ulcers at some point in life.
Stomach acid breaks down food, but it can also digest the stomach wall itself. Ulcers result when there's a breakdown in the stomach's protective lining of mucous. It can cause pain and, apparently in Boris Yeltsin's case, internal bleeding.
Hemorrhaging is a common, but serious ulcer complication that can lead to life-threatening blood loss. Signs of bleeding may be present on either end of the digestive tract.
Doctors often look for the source of bleeding using an endoscope, a long lighted tube that is passed through the throat into the stomach.
Tissue samples can be taken through the endoscope, and sometimes procedures to control the bleeding can be performed through the device.
A spokesman for Yeltsin said he has undergone the uncomfortable examination and he will remain in bed and on medication for a few days.
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| Ulcers are caused by a breakdown in the stomach lining and, as in Yeltsin's case, can cause internal bleeding | |
Treatment includes medication, surgery
Commonly used ulcer drugs neutralize or slow down stomach acid production, giving the body time to heal.
Antibiotics are also used in many patients since the discovery this decade that the Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, bacterium may cause ulcers.
If medications fail to bring relief, surgery may be necessary to repair damage to the stomach wall.
Aspirin may make stomach lining weaker
A leading Russian surgeon told a Russian news agency that Yeltsin's ulcer may have come from taking aspirin to help protect his ailing heart. Continuous use of aspirin and related anti-inflammatory drugs is known to interfere with the stomach's protective lining.
While doctors no longer consign ulcer patients to bland diets, they do discourage drinks which contain caffeine for alcohol. Both substances can aggravate stomach ulcers.