Gastric and duodenal ulcers can be treated with medicines, but they tend to recur if lifestyle changes are not adopted.
After thermal cautery with endoscopy, the oozing ulcer heals, and even this isn’t a permanent cure if the internal lining of the upper gut is prone to ulceration.
The pain due to an ulcerogenic stomach is difficult to bear, and it usually disrupts the quality of life of an individual.
An inflamed gut reduces concentration and sleep and leads to constipation and overall uneasiness. Once ulcers are diagnosed, lifestyle management is the only way out to control complications.
Gastroduodenal ulcers encroach upon the well-being of the person so much that recovery from pain or heartburn becomes the foremost need of the person.
GD ulcers are a lifestyle disease needing rigid eating times and quantity and quality of food, something similar to hypertension and diabetes.
During my undergraduate training our surgery teacher rushed us up towards the ward to smell the coffee-colored blood of an inpatient being transported for an emergency surgery. She said, “Smell this vomitus forever to get an on-the-spot diagnosis, even if you doubt the color.”
It was very offensive, and I remember the entire episode. Later during the day we were taken to an endoscopy room visit for observing the healing of an oozing ulcer of another patient.
Presently my subject doesn’t need the ward work. But I take lectures and used to attend clinics in rural centers where I taught fellows and patients about prevention of ulcers and relieving their pain.
Many ask the patient to drink milk. This practice should be stopped, I would say. This common belief can aggravate the load of the painful or burning stomach and aggravate the inflammation. It is more hydrochloric acid secreting.
Therefore, to prevent ulcer pain and add comfort to heartburn, one should have lemon water in an aqueous solution of 200 ml/kg, preferably after or in between meals. Honey can be added as an antioxidant, and it also has anti-inflammatory effects.
Citrus is acidic but has an alkalizing effect that tends to reduce gastric secretions. It aids digestion and prevents dehydration, which further improves gut health.
The anti-ulcerogenic effect has been proven in animal studies. Most doctors fear that it will aggravate the pain. It might be so once or twice, but with regular practice, the stomach would adjust to its astringent properties.
In the long term lemon water prevents ulcers and heals early stages if ulceration occurs.
The quantity and frequency can be personalized. More doses can be suggested to smokers and alcoholics. If the pain worsens, one can discontinue and try some other day. Basically, you have to personalize the effects through different times in a day and meals.
According to M. Mohanapriya, in one of her research projects in 2013, lemon contains flavonoids like limonoids and limonin glucoside. These have antioxidants and are anti-carcinogenic, good at healing peptic ulcers. B. Nagaraju also suggested in his research that ulcers and the ulcer index reduce upon drinking an aqueous solution of lemon water regularly. His research was published in 2012.
Lemon drinks are good for dyspepsia and hydration. But utilizing them for anti-ulcerogenic effects would be a nice experiment that people can try on themselves. Do try and report to a gastroenterologist in case there is aggravation of symptoms, the chances of which are rare.
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