In some cases, an ulcer can bleed.
The bleeding can be minimal or severe.
Treatment can help with symptoms and eventually cause the ulcer to go away.
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This article looks at the symptoms, causes, treatment, and complications of bleeding ulcers.
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Symptoms
Minor ulcers may not cause any symptoms.
They might have extreme fatigue or othersymptoms of anemia(a low number of healthy red blood cells).
The anemia may be diagnosed before the ulcer.
The pain from an ulcer tends to be dull and achy instead of sharp.
It can last for hours or come and go.
An ulcer can lead to complications if left untreated.
Get emergency treatment if you:
Causes
Ulcers can happen for several reasons.
However, not everyone with this pop in of bacteria will develop stomach ulcers.
This can lead to ulcers, especially if you take NSAIDs regularly.
Rare Tumors
A rare condition (Zollinger-Ellison syndrome) results in tumors that produce the hormone gastrin.
This stimulates the release of large amounts of stomach acid and leads to ulcers.
pyloriinfection is causing your ulcer, a doctor will also prescribe antibiotics to kill anyH.
pyloribacteria in your digestive tract.
In some cases, doctors may also need to treat excessive bleeding.
Typically, healthcare providers perform surgery when an ulcer is bleeding profusely, and the bleeding doesnt stop.
Outlook
Proper treatment can get rid of an ulcer and prevent serious complications.
However, ulcers often come back.
If you continue to take NSAIDs frequently, for example, you may develop another ulcer.
Summary
A bleeding ulcer isnt a symptom to ignore.
Untreated ulcers can lead to complications like severe blood loss or perforation of the tissue lining your stomach.
Thankfully, there are ways to treat ulcers and stop bleeding.
If severe bleeding or treatment doesnt stop or slow the bleeding, a healthcare provider may recommend surgery.
Ideally, you should receive treatment before an ulcer gets to this point.
With treatment, most ulcers will heal and wont lead to complications like severe blood loss.
You may not even have symptoms.
However, ulcers tend to return on their own, too.
Getting treatment increases the chances that ulcers wont come back.
This depends on the key in and size of the ulcer.
A large stomach ulcer, for instance, may take several months to heal.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Symptoms & causes of peptic ulcers (stomach ulcers).
American College of Gastroenterology.Peptic ulcer disease.
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.Treatment for peptic ulcers (stomach ulcers).
