Ulcers can be caused by stress weakening the body’s natural defenses, excessive aspirin consumption, alcohol abuse, prescription drugs, and certain diseases. Lifestyle changes can help prevent ulcer formation.
Ulcers are a fact of life for many people today. Often accompanied by a level of pain that is at best distracting and at worst debilitating, ulcers can form when situations arise that interfere with the body’s natural ability to heal and function. Here are some of the most common causes of ulcers among people today.
While most people would immediately agree that stress is a major cause of ulcers, they wouldn’t be exactly correct. While stress is definitely bad for the body in general, it doesn’t directly lead to ulcer formation. The role stress plays is in weakening the body’s natural defenses against infection.
Stress accomplishes this by inhibiting the production of HCl. This is a significant issue, as HCl is one of the compounds that help keep H. pylori production from getting out of hand. Having too much H. pylori in the digestive tract can lead to the development of peptic ulcers, esophageal ulcers, and duodenal ulcers. Keeping stress in check will help keep HCl and H. pylori levels in balance, but eliminating stress will not lead to ulcer healing.
Another common cause of ulcers is the consumption of excessive amounts of aspirin. Aspirin can cause a rupture of the stomach lining. As the lining of the stomach and small intestine are thinned by the aspirin, the opportunity for ruptures and injury develops. This provides ideal circumstances for an ulcer to develop. While occasional aspirin use usually doesn’t create a problem, for people who find that consuming more than 500 milligrams of aspirin per day is a common occurrence, the risk of developing an ulcer is very real.
Over time, alcohol abuse can also damage the natural lining of the stomach lining. As with aspirin, responsible moderate consumption of wine and other forms of alcohol is unlikely to lead to the development of ulcers. However, a prolonged period of alcohol abuse will slowly erode the coating until cracks begin to appear. This overindulgence in alcoholic beverages forms the basis for one of the leading causes of ulcers in our society today.
Like aspirin, prescription drugs can be a cause of ulcers. Antibiotics such as tetracycline and doxcycline have been recognized to cause ulcers to develop in the esophagus. Anti-inflammatory drugs such as indomethacin are now being studied as potential sources of ulcers. Some prescription drugs may not be among the causes of ulcers, but drugs that are part of the corticosteroid family have tended to mask peptic ulcer symptoms until the condition has reached serious proportions.
Other diseases also rank high among the causes of ulcers. People with the conditions lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are at an increased risk of developing an ulcer, even if the individual is not taking a prescription or over-the-counter drug that has been identified as causing ulcers. It is speculated that the weakening of the body’s immune system with these and other types of diseases is what allows for the increased risk of ulcers.
Many of the various causes of ulcers can be eliminated by making lifestyle changes, such as limiting alcohol use, controlling aspirin consumption, and finding constructive ways to cope with stress. Consult your primary care physician for more information on what you can do to increase your chances of avoiding ulcer formation.
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