Heartburn Ulcer

Every person experiences heartburn at some point in their lives. Obviously, the heartburn can vary in degree and some people might experience more heartburn pain than others. Fortunately enough, there are a lot of methods available which provide a way to ease our heartburn conditions.

Frequent heartburn, however, has the potential to turn into a serious problem. It might also have an unfortunate side effect that can occur due to frequent heartburn irritations. This complication is a heartburn ulcer.

What is an heartburn ulcer?

Many people who suffer from frequent heartburn have no idea that they are actually at risk of suffering from a heartburn ulcer. A heartburn ulcer occurs when the lining of the esophagus deteriorates due to the effects of the stomach acid that has been repeatedly refluxed into the esophagus. Due to the corrosive effect the acid has on the esophagus lining, a hole is burned through the lower section of the esophagus.

In general heartburn ulcers are located in the lower section of the esophagus and sometimes they are connected to GERD disease. Gerd is chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease.

A lot of people share the opinion that heartburn ulcers are contagious, which is a myth anyway. You cannot catch heartburn ulcers from another person. An ulcer is usually a symptom of a different problem.

What causes heartburn ulcers?

When heartburn ulcers erode the lining of the esophagus there is a certain probability that bleeding can occur. This condition in turn may lead to iron deficiency anemia. Therefore, you shouldn’t let it come that far.

The main cause of heartburn ulcers is the destruction of the esophagus lining as mentioned before. This is done by the H. Pyloridus bacteria. H. Pyloridus bacteria are usually found in the stomach. When the stomach acid reflux back into the esophagus the H. Pyloridus bacteria comes into contact with the esophagus. Repeated acid reflux will bring a high amount of stomach H. Pyloridus bacteria into the esophagus where it will be strong enough to start eating away at the esophagus lining and this clears the path for the development of a heartburn ulcer.

Different reasons why heartburn ulcers can develop are the continuous usage of anti-inflammatory medications (that can also lead to acid drug reflux), smoking, the use of cigarettes and nicotine products as well as tobacco chewing.

Furthermore, the digestive disorders of GERD and bulimia are also thought to be connected with heartburn ulcers.

How can an ulcer be diagnosed?

If your doctor has the opinion that a heartburn ulcer has developed, he will refer you to a gastroenterologist for the next step. A barium x-ray or endoscopy will be taken to clarify if you really have a ulcer in your stomach area.

People who have developed a heartburn ulcer suffer from bleeding and perforation of the esophagus. Today, however, heartburn ulcers can be treated. At first it is required to determine the underlying cause of the problem so that the treatment can be started. One of the common treatments that are available is the use of antibiotics to eradicate H. pyloridus