How to treat or cure ulcer

How to treat or cure ulcer

A peptic ulcer is one of medicine's genuinely curable conditions - but "cure" has a precise sequence, and skipping steps is why ulcers keep coming back.

Step 1 - Find the cause:

• H. pylori test - urea breath test, stool antigen test, or biopsy at endoscopy. This decides whether antibiotics are needed.
• Endoscopy if: age over ~50-55 with new symptoms, alarm signs (weight loss, bleeding, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, anaemia), or an ulcer that does not heal. A gastric ulcer gets biopsied to exclude cancer.
• Review every medicine you take - painkillers, steroids, blood thinners.

Step 2 - Remove the cause:

• H. pylori positive → 10-14 day eradication course (a PPI + two/three antibiotics), taken fully
• NSAID-related → stop the painkiller (or switch under medical guidance); never just mask it with antacids
• Stop smoking and alcohol during healing

Step 3 - Heal the lining:

• PPI once daily for 4-8 weeks (duodenal ulcers often 4 weeks, gastric 6-8)
• Antacids only for occasional breakthrough burning

Step 4 - Confirm and prevent return:

• If asked, a post-treatment breath/stool test (4+ weeks after antibiotics, off PPI for 2 weeks) confirms eradication
• A non-healing gastric ulcer needs repeat endoscopy and biopsy
• Long-term: no unsupervised NSAIDs, no smoking

What "cure" is not: feeling better after three days of antacid and stopping everything; a month of kadha while the bacteria persist; or repeat over-the-counter omeprazole forever without a diagnosis. Each of those leaves the ulcer active.

Remember: test → eradicate → suppress acid fully → confirm. That sequence cures most ulcers for good; partial treatment manufactures recurrence.

Ayurvedic view (interpretive)

Ayurveda has no means to detect or eradicate H. pylori - its role, if any, is supportive diet and soothing care around this medical sequence, openly coordinated with the treating doctor.