Ulcers

wexhun

Are Ulcers (peptic) caused by stress or diet?

John

I'm no gastritic engineer but I imagine both play a part.

Vorsprung

70% of gastric ulcers are caused by a bacteria, Helicobacter pylori

DrIndy

Stress and diet has a role, but the commonest cause of ulcers (as opposed just an inflamed stomach - gastritis) is H. pylori.

wexhun

I see, but where does this h. pylori come from and how is it ulcers seem to run in families?

hoggy87

About 60% of the population are infected with it, but of that, only 30% will ever develop symptoms.

DrIndy

Ulcers run in families because the infection is passed through family members. This was one of the biggest breakthroughs in the last few years and revolutionised treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers.

metrovelvet

My friend had gastric ulcers which were caused by her gluten intolerance. She doesnt eat gluten and no longer has the ulcers.

DrIndy

Thats coeliac disease and is not the same as ulcers. The villi are flattened and rubbed off in the bowel and results in an inability to absorb nutrients from food. They occur in the duodenum and further down whereas ulcers occur in the stomach and top of the duodenum.

Pet

How is the H. Pylori bacterium transmitted between people? And what are the usual symptoms of infection?

DrIndy

Mother to child at a young age is the running theory, but nobody really knows exactly. Younger people are less likely to be infected probably due to less crowded houses that older generation lived in.

wexhun

Please excuse my total ignorance on the subject but I didn't know children could suffer from ulcers I always thought it was exclusivly adults or does the H. Pylori bacterium lie dormant in the child until it is (for want of a better word) awakened when an adult? What are the symptoms of stomach ulcers in a child? How do you distinguish between a stomach ulcer and those normal tummy 'before school pains'.

DrIndy

children do get ulcers, but it is quite rare, they are infected with H pylori at a young age and it emerges later in life.