Ulcer Treatment: Practical Steps to Heal Stomach Ulcers

Got a burning pain in your upper belly or dark stool and wondering if it's an ulcer? You’re not alone. Ulcers — usually peptic or gastric — are common and treatable. This guide gives clear, usable steps: how ulcers are diagnosed, which treatments actually work, and what you can do at home to feel better fast.

Diagnosis and When to See a Doctor

If you have persistent burning or gnawing pain between meals or at night, a doctor should check you. Serious signs that need emergency care are vomiting blood, black or tarry stools, fainting, or sudden severe belly pain. Your doctor will ask about medicines (especially NSAIDs like ibuprofen), alcohol, smoking, and test for H. pylori — the bacteria behind most peptic ulcers.

Common tests: a urea breath test or stool antigen to detect H. pylori, and an endoscopy if symptoms are severe or you’re older than 55 with alarm signs. Endoscopy looks for the ulcer directly and can take a biopsy if needed.

Treatment Options and Home Steps

Treatment depends on the cause. If H. pylori is present, doctors use a short antibiotic course plus a proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Typical antibiotic regimens last 7–14 days. PPIs — like omeprazole or lansoprazole — reduce acid and help the ulcer heal; these are usually taken for 4–8 weeks.

If NSAIDs caused the ulcer, stopping those drugs often helps. Your doctor may switch you to acetaminophen for pain and give a PPI or H2 blocker (like famotidine) to protect the stomach. For people at high risk who must stay on NSAIDs, adding a PPI or using misoprostol may be discussed with the prescriber.

Over-the-counter antacids can ease symptoms quickly, but they don’t heal ulcers. Sucralfate or bismuth compounds can help in some cases, especially when combined with other treatments. Always check with your doctor or pharmacist before mixing meds.

Simple lifestyle changes speed recovery: stop smoking (it slows healing), limit alcohol, and avoid heavy use of NSAIDs. Eat regular, balanced meals and avoid triggers that make your symptoms worse — for some people that’s spicy food, caffeine, or large meals.

After H. pylori treatment, your doctor may re-test to confirm the infection is gone. If pain persists after standard treatment, follow up — persistent ulcers need further evaluation to rule out complications or other causes, including rare ones like Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Quick checklist: get tested for H. pylori if you have an ulcer, stop NSAIDs if possible, use a PPI as prescribed, use antacids for short-term relief, and see a doctor immediately for bleeding or severe pain. With the right care, most ulcers heal within weeks and you can get back to normal life.