Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Other Causes of Upset Stomach
You probably have experienced having an upset stomach several times in your life. It is an uncomfortable feeling that surely you would rather than experience again. It can be caused by several things like acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome and ulcer.
Acid reflux happens when stomach acids flow back up in the esophagus. The sphincter or the valve between your esophagus and stomach can sometimes relax too much that it fails to prevent back flow of acids.
Irritable bowel syndrome or IBS cause you to sometimes have diarrhea or constipation alternately. It is usually accompanied by nausea, vomiting and abdominal cramps. This happens when there is a sudden change in the movements in the intestines.
Ulcers can develop in your stomach and in your small intestines. When you have ulcers, you sometimes feel burning sensations in you stomach or sometimes there is also abdominal cramping.
Treatment begins with the correct diagnosis of your problem. It is important to identify first what causes the upset stomach before proper medication or treatment procedure is done.
Some of the common diagnostic tests done are blood test, gastroscopy and barium meal x-ray.
Blood test is done to see the presence of H. pylori. It is a bacterium usually found in the mucous layers of your stomach. It is linked to the development of ulcers especially in adults aged more than 50.
Gastroscopy is done to see the inside of the esophagus or the stomach and sometimes even the duodenum. Presence of ulcers can be seen through this procedure. Small samples of tissues can also be taken for more laboratory testing.
With barium meal x-ray, you will be asked to swallow a drink containing barium before an x-ray image is taken.
As said earlier all these test are important to determine the cause of the problem. This is needed because you cannot just take medications basing on the symptoms you feel. There are cases where just taking relief-giving medications is not enough. You need to address them squarely to prevent progression of the problem.
