An ulcer is an erosion on the inside of the digestive system, and can be very painful. Ulcers can be healed, but eating or drinking certain foods and beverages---including alcohol---may slow recovery or undo the healing that has taken place.
How Ulcers Form
The inner layer of the stomach, the mucosa, protects the stomach from digesting itself and causing an erosion. When its size surpasses 3 mm, this erosion is called an ulcer.
Predisposing Conditions
Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that colonizes the stomach, is the cause of most acid-induced ulcers, and eradication of the bacterium results in these ulcers' healing.
Where Ulcers Form
The stomach has the shape of a sac. Ulcers in the body and fundus (Type I and IV) form in the presence of low acid, while ulcers near the incisura, in the antrum and in the duodenum (Type II and III) are typically the result of high acid production.
Treatment
The first histamine-receptor antagonist revolutionized the treatment of ulcer disease: Operations to treat gastro-duodenal ulcers plummeted overnight. Today the class called "proton pump inhibitors" or PPI is preferred. Type II and III ulcers are most sensitive to PPI therapy.
Effects of Alcohol
Alcoholic beverages with low ethanol content (beer and wine) are strong stimulants of gastric acid secretion, the effect of beer being equal to the maximal acid output. Alcohol can also decrease gastric motility, and this can help lead to ulcers. In short, alcohol can promote the reopening of an ulcer.
