Curling’s ulcer is a rare type of stress ulcer that affects the duodenum and is caused by physical stress from severe burns or injuries. Symptoms include abdominal pain, loss of appetite, and bleeding. Treatment involves acid suppression medication.
Curling’s ulcer is a type of ulcer that affects a portion of the small intestine called the duodenum. This type of ulcer typically develops when a patient has sustained severe burns on the skin or sustained serious injury to the body. Curling ulcer is described as a stress ulcer because it results from physical stress caused by trauma to the patient’s body. It develops when stomach acids cause a hole to form in the lining of the duodenum and cause pain, loss of appetite, and bleeding. Treatment for this type of ulcer usually involves acid suppression.
A stress ulcer typically forms in connection with a critical injury or illness. Curling ulcers are rare, but can pose a serious threat to a patient’s health. In most cases, this type of ulcer develops after a patient is seriously injured by skin burns or has suffered some other type of serious damage to the body. While it’s called a stress ulcer, it’s not related to mental or emotional stress. This type of ulcer only develops in connection with extreme physical stress.
When a person initially develops Curling’s ulcer, they may have no noticeable symptoms. Over time, however, it may develop a burning pain in the abdominal region. A patient with this type of ulcer may also experience loss of appetite. Eating does not usually help relieve curling ulcer pain, as it might when a person has another type of ulcer condition.
An individual who has Curling’s ulcer may also have hemorrhage that eventually becomes apparent outside of his or her body. For example, he might vomit blood. In some cases, a person with this condition may also pass blood when she has a bowel movement.
The severity of a patient’s general condition affects the likelihood of developing Curling’s ulcer. The most severely injured patients are typically the most at risk. Curling ulcer development is unrelated to non-stress related ulcers. This means that a person who has had a peptic ulcer in the past is usually not at additional risk of developing a curling ulcer.
In most cases, doctors use acid suppression to treat patients who have been diagnosed with this type of ulcer. Acid-suppressing prescription drugs usually work to reduce bleeding in patients who have this type of ulcer, and may also help curb some of the other symptoms. In addition to using acid-suppressing medications to treat curling ulcers, doctors may use them to prevent them from developing in patients who have injuries or conditions that put them at risk.
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