Table of contents:
- Ulcer signs and symptoms that you need to watch out for
- What causes ulcers?
- How to prevent ulcers
- 1. Do you smoke? Stop it right now
- 3. Lose weight
- 4. Avoid taking pain relievers without a doctor's supervision
Dyspepsia, or more familiarly called ulcers, is a discomfort in the upper abdomen that comes and goes and can be felt by anyone. Ulcer affects nearly 40% of adults every year and 10% of them seek medical help. Even though it is not a serious disease, ulcers can interfere with your daily activities, therefore you need to know how to prevent ulcers.
Ulcer signs and symptoms that you need to watch out for
Ulcer is not a disease, but rather a syndrome or a collection of symptoms consisting of:
- Discomfort in the upper abdomen
- Get full quickly
- Bloated sensation
- Nausea
- Vomiting, and
- Burning feeling in the chest
What causes ulcers?
So far it is still unclear the mechanism by which a person can suffer from ulcers, but based on it American Family Physician, there are 2 possibilities that cause ulcers. First, decreased movement of the gastrointestinal tract, and second: increased stomach acid. This decrease in gastrointestinal work explains the symptoms of nausea, vomiting, feelings of fullness, and flatulence. Meanwhile, the increase in stomach acid explains the symptoms of heartburn and burning in the chest.
How to prevent ulcers
To prevent ulcers is not difficult, but requires discipline that is often ignored. Here are some easy ways to prevent ulcers.
1. Do you smoke? Stop it right now
The nicotine in cigarettes has a muscle relaxing effect, so that the digestive tract muscles that are supposed to keep stomach contents from rising up become weak. This causes acid reflux, a series of indigestion symptoms characterized by a burning sensation in the chest due to increased stomach acid. Smokers also tend to cough easily, where every time they cough their stomach will be depressed, thus increasing the risk of stomach acid rising.
Apart from cigarettes, alcohol and chocolate also have an effect similar to that of nicotine.
2. Change your diet
Preventing heartburn from recurring can be as simple as changing your daily diet.
- Get used to eat more often with smaller portions. If you usually eat 3 times a day, try changing it to eating 5-6 smaller meals a day.
- Avoid eating until you are too full because if the stomach contents are too full, the stomach contents can rise up into the throat.
- Reduce consumption of foods or drinks that are acidic such as spicy foods, oranges, and coffee. Acidic foods or drinks trigger pain in the gut.
- Avoid eating before bed because it increases the risk of increasing stomach contents.
3. Lose weight
Those of you who are overweight have a higher risk of developing ulcers because they tend to eat large portions, which increases the pressure in the stomach so that the contents of the stomach easily rise out. Losing 2-5 kg of weight can help you prevent ulcers from coming back.
4. Avoid taking pain relievers without a doctor's supervision
One of the most frequently used anti-pain drugs is non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). This medicine has the effect of increasing stomach acid so that you become susceptible to heartburn, so the use of NSAIDs should be on the advice of a doctor. Be careful also when drinking herbal medicine, because herbal products often contain NSAIDs so that taking herbal medicine in the long term also has the same effect as long-term NSAID use.
In addition to the four tips above, as much as possible avoid wearing clothes that are too tight and too stressful in order to prevent ulcers from recurring at a later date.
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