These are very similar to stomach ulcers, but occur in the first part of the small intestine – the duodenum. The main symptom is pain, several hours after eating. This pain is usually felt in the upper abdomen, although sometimes it appears to be in the back.
Most duodenal ulcers result from excessive acid production in the stomach. All the causative factors described above for stomach ulcers are also operative in duodenal ulcers, particularly anxiety, tension, smoking and drinking too much alcohol. Wine and spirits are the main offenders. Duodenal ulcers also seem to be linked with eating a lot of pickled food, and eating refined carbohydrates that is, sugar and white flour. Duodenal ulcers tend to heal themselves, provided the original causes are removed.
Again, a small minority of patients with duodenal ulcers may be suffering from food allergy or food intolerance – but there is little hard evidence to support this belief, only individual case-histories.
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