Don’t underestimate esophageal ulcers, the consequences are so serious!

We always hear someone talking about his oral ulcers. Some people think that it is due to the lack of certain vitamins, so they remind the patient to eat more fruits, pay attention to oral hygiene, etc., and the condition will basically improve in the last 3-5 days. Therefore, we don’t think the word ulcer is a big deal or a serious disease. However, do you know about esophageal ulcers? It is not as simple as oral ulcers. It means that your esophageal mucosa is damaged. If you suffer from esophageal damage or severe esophageal ulcers repeatedly, esophageal fibrosis will occur, which will eventually cause esophageal stenosis. Generally, people with esophageal ulcers will experience symptoms of heartburn, dry retching and acid reflux, and some will also feel pain behind their sternum.

So, how to treat esophageal ulcer?

1. First, emphasize

The treatment of esophageal ulcer is not difficult. The most worrying thing is that if it is not treated properly, inflammation and ulcers will recur, causing fibrosis and stenosis of the esophagus.

2. Differential diagnosis

Common diseases that cause esophageal ulcers include: esophageal peptic ulcer, esophageal Crohn's disease, Behcet's disease, esophageal cancer, reflux esophagitis, and corrosive esophagitis. In addition, esophageal tuberculosis and syphilitic esophagitis may also cause esophageal ulcers. The esophageal ulcers caused by these diseases may present as multiple superficial ulcers or as single larger ulcers. Care should be taken to differentiate them during examination, especially in the early stages of esophageal cancer, which can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from peptic ulcers. Special attention should be paid during examination. The above diseases are not difficult to diagnose based on their respective clinical manifestations and pathological examinations. Sometimes the lesions are difficult to distinguish and require repeated follow-up observations and multiple biopsies before a correct diagnosis can be made.

Patients with esophageal ulcers may experience the following symptoms due to the stimulation of acidic gastric juice and eating:

Pain behind the lower breastbone or in the upper abdomen. The pain often worsens after eating or drinking, and may radiate to the shoulder area, left chest, or upward to the shoulder and neck. Sometimes the pain is similar to coronary heart disease and angina pectoris. Should be identified. The identification method is to take a detailed medical history and physical examination, and confirm the diagnosis through electrocardiogram, esophageal barium meal and esophagoscopy.

Difficulty swallowing is also a common symptom. Dysphagia refers to the feeling of obstruction when swallowing food. Initially, it is only difficult to swallow solid food, but as the disease progresses, even liquid food may be difficult to pass. This is because after eating, the stimulation of food in patients with esophageal ulcers can cause spasmodic contraction of the esophagus and cause difficulty in swallowing. In addition, chronic ulcers can cause local scarring and stenosis, which is also an important cause of dysphagia.

Esophageal ulcers may also cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and belching, which are caused by the disruption of the normal peristalsis of the esophagus.

Due to the patient's long-term poor eating habits, symptoms such as anemia and weight loss may also occur.

3. Dietary precautions

1. Patients with esophageal ulcers should strengthen their nutrition by choosing foods that are easily digestible, contain sufficient calories, and are rich in protein and vitamins. Such as porridge, thin noodles, milk, soft rice, soy milk, eggs, lean meat, tofu and soy products; foods rich in vitamins A, B, C, such as fresh vegetables and fruits. These foods can enhance the body's resistance, help repair damaged tissues and promote ulcer healing.

2. Patients with esophageal ulcers should avoid eating foods with a lot of residue, fried foods, and foods rich in crude fiber, such as celery, leeks, bean sprouts, ham, bacon, dried fish and various coarse grains. These foods are not only rough and difficult to digest, but they can be eaten after being processed into easily digestible foods such as vegetable puree.

3. Patients with esophageal ulcers should avoid eating highly irritating foods and foods that stimulate gastric acid secretion, such as broth, raw onions, raw garlic, concentrated juice, coffee, wine, strong tea, as well as foods that are too sweet, too sour, too salty, too hot, raw, cold, or hard.

4. Patients with esophageal ulcers should avoid eating overheated foods. Overheated food can irritate the ulcer surface, causing pain, and even dilate the blood vessels on the ulcer surface, causing bleeding; spicy food can irritate the ulcer surface, increasing gastric acid secretion; overly cold or hard food cannot be properly digested and can aggravate the condition.

5. Patients with esophageal ulcers should quit smoking. In addition, ulcer patients should quit smoking. Nicotine in tobacco can change the acidity and alkalinity of gastric juice, disrupt the normal activity of the pyloric stomach, and induce or aggravate ulcer disease. 3. Cooking should be appropriate, preferably by steaming, roasting, frying, stewing, etc. Fried, deep-fried, smoked and other cooked dishes are difficult to digest and stay in the stomach for a long time, affecting the healing of the ulcer surface.