How many times you have or you have seen somebody popping up many anti acidic tabs? Go easy on them as they might harm your body rather than providing some relief. If a couple of antacids don’t do the trick, it’s probably not indigestion. Get yourself checked out else it can really get complicated or it could be the sign of stomach ulcer.

An endoscopy of the intestine, in which a flexible lighted tube is sent into the duodenum, indicate the presence of an ulcer if any in the upper portion of the organ or trace out other problem if any. Duodenal ulcers, more commonly referred to as peptic ulcers, are caused by the combined corrosive action of hydrochloric acid and the enzyme pepsin on the stomach lining. They are up to 12 times more common in men than in women, and characteristically occur between the ages of 30 and 40 and in people who eat hurried, irregular meals. Both anxiety and bad eating habits tend to increase the acid and pepsin produced in the stomach at those times when there is no food present for these substances to work on.

Drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes are more suspect as a cause of duodenal ulcers than hot, spicy food. If you do rely heavily on aspirin to head off a head splitter, which also has the effect of eroding the stomach lining and thus reducing the protection it gives.

SYMPTOMS OF ULCERS
The typical symptoms of ulcers are;
1. Griping pain in the abdomen or sometimes in the back.
2. A feeling of fullness and discomfort in the abdomen, two and three hours after eating that is eased by eating and by antacids.
3. Sudden vomiting of blood.
4. Presence of the bacteria H. pylori.

H. pylori are implicated as a cause of some ulcers in a sizeable percentage of the affected population. H. pylori are typically passed on through contaminated food and water and can easily survive in the acidic environment of the stomach. 80 percent of the population in developing countries like India has this tentacle bacteria living in their systems. The mystery is that in most of these people it’s harmless. Only in 15 percent of the infected population does H.pylori cause trouble, when it penetrates delicate mucous lining of the stomach to create an ulcer. H.pylori, coupled with the blunders like having irregular meals, spicy, oil laden curries and very little water intake that caused acid to accumulate in the stomach set up an environment for the ulcer to grow and prosper. H. pylori are a tenacious germ. Drugs like H-2 blockers, Proton Pump inhibitors and antacids, are prescribed to prevent acid secretion or protect the stomach lining.

Duodenal ulcers are common in people who drive themselves hard at work, who are anxious and over-conscientious. One needs to get small, regular and frequent meals and drink plenty of water.
Early detection of H. pylori can prevent surgery to staunch bleeding ulcers. But even early detection and treatment doesn’t assure that you'll be H. pylori free for the rest of your life. There is always a chance of re infection even after you complete the course of treatment.