Peptic Ulcer Signs & Symptoms - OmniMedicalSearch.com

Conditions & Diseases: Digestive System

Peptic Ulcers

Signs & Symptoms

A common symptom of peptic ulcer is abdominal pain usually in the upper middle part of the abdomen, above the belly button (navel) and below the breastbone.

The pain could be a burning or gnawing and may progress - being worst at night and early morning coming several hours after a meal when the stomach is empty - lasting from a few minutes to several hours.

The patient can be relieved of pain by eating certain foods, antacids or taking OTC heartburn medication.

Other symptoms of peptic ulcers include:

Nausea
Vomiting
Loss of appetite
Loss of weight

Severe ulcers may lead to bleeding in the stomach or duodenum and sometimes, this could be the only symptom of an ulcer. The bleeding could be fast or slow. Fast bleeding can be recognized by following symptoms:

Vomiting of blood or dark material appearing like coffee grounds. This is an emergency and warrants immediate visit to an emergency room.
Blood in the stool or black, tarry, sticky-looking stools.

Slow bleeding is difficult to detect since it has no dramatic symptoms. However, following are the symptoms of slow bleeding:

Low blood cell count or anemia
The symptoms of anemia being tiredness (fatigue), lack of energy (lethargy), weakness and pallor (unnatural lack of color in the skin) (4).

Article by Kona Vishnu, MS
Medical Writer,
OmniMedicalSearch.com

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Page Last Modified:
09/10/2010