Chukwudi Njelita, chief medical director of Rock Foundation Hospital in Awka, Anambra, has cautioned against abuse and excessive intake of pain relievers also known as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Mr Njelita, who gave the advice in an interview in Awka on Monday, said this was necessary in order to check the increase in peptic ulcer incidence.

He described ulcer as an “erosion of the inner surface of the stomach or upper part of the intestine due to an imbalance in the secretion of acid or the acidic state of the stomach.

“This erosion is mainly caused by acid secretion, which is essentially the content of the stomach because acid helps in the digestion of protein, but this acid must not be in excess,” he said.

Mr Njelita said, though, that acid made up a great part of the content of the stomach which enabled the digestion of protein but it should not be in excess in order not to exacerbate the process of of ulceration

He said the misuse of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which were used for pains and arthritis, could worsen ulcers by causing the breakdown of the mucosal lining by the secretion of more acid in the stomach.

According to him, ulcer is primarily caused by Helicobacter pylori, which is responsible for the breakdown of the mucosa of the stomach.

“Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are capable of stopping arthritis pains, but they can trigger chemical reactions in the body that can cause breakdown of the mucosal lining by the secretion of more acid in the stomach.

“When people who have arthritis keep taking NSAIDs, like aspirin, diclofenac, indomethacin, and ibuprofen in high doses beyond the doctor’s prescription, these drugs will give the side effect of causing peptic ulcers.

“Abuse of these drugs can also cause peptic ulcers. That is why when doctors prescribe these drugs when necessary, they ask questions to make sure the patient can tolerate those drugs,” he said.

Mr Njelita said symptoms of peptic ulcers included abdominal pain in the epigastric region or the upper part, middle back pain, and when it becomes complicated, the wounds start to bleed and result in melena or darkened stool.

He said the notion that hunger caused ulcers by enzymes digesting the surface of the stomach was speculative; it is not scientific.

He said the best way to manage ulcers was by using medicines that attacked Helicobacter pylori and drugs that could reduce the secretion of acid into the stomach.

“A combination of this for two to three weeks will go a long way to abetting the ulcer,” he said.

(NAN)