Regular monitoring must for ulcer patients while fasting

Rawalpindi

Regular monitoring is a must for patients suffering from stomach ulcer particularly when they opt for 16-hour fast in the holy month of Ramazan.

It is observed that a significant number of ulcer patients face complications including recurrence of the disease and ulcer bleeding particularly after middle of Ramazan while fasting and according to health experts, it happens because majority of ulcer patients do not undergo complete medical check-up before Ramazan.

Experts say that the patients with stomach ulcer must undergo complete medical check-ups at least once before and once during the month of Ramazan if they are fasting. Without medical check-ups, ulcer’s complications would remain undiagnosed and these may lead to life-threatening condition, said medical specialist Dr. Sohail Tariq while talking to ‘The News’.

The ulcer might develop life-threatening complications like haemorrhages in a fasting patient if he or she does not take extra care. The patients with severe ulcer when fast for 16 hours a day without effective medication may face serious complications, he said.

He, however, said that with the help of proper medication, the effects of fasting on an ulcer patient can be minimised and complications can be avoided in a number of cases. Now much effective medicines are available in markets with the use of which an ulcer patient can avoid complications of the disease without diet for over 20 hours however it is still a must for a fasting ulcer patient to take proper advice from his physician before opting for fasting, he said.

Studies reveal that stomach ulcer (also called a peptic ulcer) is small erosion (hole) in the gastrointestinal tract. The direct cause of peptic ulcers is destruction of the gastric or intestinal mucosal lining of the stomach by hydrochloric acid, an acid normally present in the digestive juices of the stomach. Excess secretion of hydrochloric acid, genetic predisposition, and psychological stress are important contributing factors in the formation and worsening of duodenal ulcers.

Studies reveal that stomach ulcer affects the nerves surrounding it. The nerves become agitated and cause a great amount of pain. In a good number of fasting patients, the stomach ulcers can cause haemorrhages from the erosion of a major blood vessel; a tear in the wall of the stomach or obstruction of the gastrointestinal tract because of spasm or swelling in the area of the ulcer.

It is important that Professor of Medicine at Rawalpindi Medical College Dr. Muhammad Shoaib Shafi conducted a research on complications of ulcer during fasting with the help of Professor of Surgery at RMC Dr. Jahangir Sarwar a few years back.

During the research, it was found that patients with severe ulcer when fasting without taking effective medication have to undergo complications like bleeding, pyloric obstruction and or perforation of ulcer.

It was also found that in most of the severe cases of ulcer, complications in a fasting patient normally occur after 20th of Ramazan. The research has also revealed that chance of bleeding in a smoker patient of ulcer during Ramazan is 100 times greater than that of a non-smoker.

Health experts suggest that all patients having complaints of ulcer should completely avoid smoking during Ramazan and should use plenty of fruits and lemon during the month of Ramazan if fasting.