An ulcer is a chronic sore in the stomach or small intestine, caused by too much acid. It may cause a chronic, dull sometimes sharp pain in the pit of the stomach. The pain usually gets worse an hour or more after eating, if the person misses a meal, or after he drinks alcohol or eats fatty or spicy foods. The pain is often worse at night without a special examination it is often hard to know whether a person with frequent stomach pain has an ulcer or not. If the ulcer is severe it can cause vomiting, sometimes with fresh blood or digested blood that looks like coffee grounds. Stools with blood from an ulcer patient are usually dark black like tar. Sometimes ulcers are painless or silent and the first sign is blood in vomit or black, sticky stools. This is a medical emergency the person can quickly bleed to death. There are ways to prevent and treat ulcers:

• Do not eat too much: eat small meals and eat frequent snacks between meals. Eat foods that seem to calm and not cause pain.

• Observe what foods or drink makes the pain worse and avoid them: this usually includes alcoholic drinks, coffee, spices, pepper, carbonated drinks e.g. soda, colas, and fatty or greasy foods.

• If the heartburn is worse at night when lying flat, try sleeping with the upper body raised a bit.

• Drink a lot of water: Drink water before a meal and after the meal, also drink a lot of water between meals. If the pain comes often keep drinking water, even those times when you have no pain.

• Avoid tobacco: smoking or chewing tobacco increase stomach acid and makes the problem worse.

• Take antacids: the best antacids contain aluminium hydroxide and magnesium.

It is important to treat ulcers very early otherwise it may lead to dangerous bleeding or peritonitis. Ulcers usually get better if you are careful of what you eat and drink. Anger, tension and nervousness increase acid in the stomach. Learning to relax and keep calm will help. Continuous care is necessary to prevent the ulcer from returning.