What does gastritis and peptic ulcer mean in traditional Chinese medicine?

Gastritis and peptic ulcer are very common gastrointestinal diseases, which will have a great impact once they occur. Although these diseases are not very serious, they are chronic and related to our diet, so the effect of Western medicine treatment is not very good. Therefore, some patients are very concerned about the explanation of traditional Chinese medicine. So, what does traditional Chinese medicine mean for gastritis and peptic ulcer? Let’s take a closer look below.

Peptic ulcer mainly refers to chronic ulcer occurring in the stomach and duodenum. It is a common and frequently occurring disease. The main symptoms include recurrent pain in the upper abdomen, which is cyclical, rhythmic, and related to diet, and may be accompanied by heartburn, a feeling of nausea, warm breath, nausea, vomiting, and in severe cases, complications such as vomiting blood, bloody stools, perforation, pyloric obstruction, and cancer. It is more common in males, with a male-to-female ratio of 5.23:1 to 6.5:1; the disease can occur at any age, but most cases occur in young and middle-aged people. Peptic ulcer belongs to the categories of "epigastric pain", "vomiting" and "acid vomiting" in traditional Chinese medicine.

【Etiology and pathology】

The disease is located in the stomach and is closely related to the liver, spleen, stomach and other internal organs. It may occur due to worry, anxiety, or anger, which can damage the liver, causing the liver to lose its ability to release energy, which can infect the stomach, causing the stomach to lose its ability to harmonize and descend, and blocking the qi flow, leading to stomach pain. If liver depression turns into fire, the evil fire may damage the yin and may aggravate stomach pain or prolong the course of the disease. If Qi stagnates for a long time, blood vessels become clogged and blood stasis forms inside the body, the pain will become stubborn and difficult to heal. Weak spleen and stomach, excessive fatigue, or long-term illness that damages the spleen and stomach can all lead to weakness of the middle burner and stomach pain. If the spleen yang is insufficient, cold evil is generated internally, and the blood vessels fail to be warmed and nourished, it can cause deficiency-cold stomach pain. If the stomach yin is injured and the stomach loses nourishment, it can cause yin deficiency stomach pain.

【Diagnosis points】

1. Pain in the upper and middle abdomen, which is recurrent, long-term, cyclical and rhythmic. The pain of gastric ulcer occurs irregularly, often within 1 hour after a meal, and is located slightly to the right of the upper abdomen, or under the xiphoid process and to the left of the xiphoid process. The pain of duodenal ulcer tends to occur between meals, and is mostly located in the upper abdomen, or slightly above, or to the right above the navel.

The pain is often dull, burning, or hunger-like.

2. Other symptoms and signs: There may be heartburn, noisy, abdominal distension, belching, regurgitation, nausea, vomiting and other symptoms. During an ulcer attack, there may be localized tenderness in the upper abdomen.

3. Endoscopic examination is the main method for diagnosing peptic ulcer.

4. X-ray barium meal examination: The main X-ray signs of peptic ulcer are niches and niche shadows, and duodenal malformation and irritation may also be seen.

5. Gastric juice analysis can reveal an increase in basal acid output (BAO) in patients with peptic ulcer.

6. Helicobacter pylori detection: A positive result indicates Helicobacter pylori infection.