An ulcer is a situation where there is a breach in the wall of the skin – ie., there is a break in continuity in the skin membrane. There are several types of ulcers with their own cause, symptoms, and remedies. The process of healing is slow and in many instances, it is known to reoccur. Here are some of the most common types of ulcers that you should know about.

Peptic ulcers
It was proven in the year 2005 that 90-92% of the peptic ulcers are caused by a bacterial infection. A peptic ulcer is a situation where the digestive juices damage the walls and the inner lining of the stomach, the top portion of the small intestine and even the esophagus. The bacteria causing this infection is called Helicobacter pylori. While peptic ulcer is usually referred to as the umbrella term, the various specific types are gastric ulcers, duodenal ulcers, and esophageal ulcers. The symptoms are generally the same for all the three kinds and include:

• Feeling of being full
• Bloating of stomach
• Belching
• Heart buns
• Nausea
• Sudden weight loss (unexplained)
• Pain in the chest

Intake of antibiotics reduces the symptoms largely. Ingestion of probiotics and alkaline foods are also recommended for this kind of ulcer as they help to build up immunity.

Arterial ulcers
These are open sores and usually develop on the ankle, toes, heels, and feet. The reason being the lack of blood flow to the tissue. They take several months to heal generally and require proper and consistent treatment to avoid further infections in the future.

Some of the symptoms include:

• Sores that appear in few colors – red, yellow or black
• Pain in ankle/ heel/toe/foot
• Extreme dryness in the skin and accumulation of dead cells

There are two lines of treatment for this type of ulcer. One is to keep them clean and dry to avoid any further infections. The second line of treatment is to opt for surgery and the intake of medicines.

Mouth ulcers
The downside of this type of ulcers is that it only gets worse as you consume food, beverages, and poor oral hygiene. There could be several reasons why one could get mouth ulcers. Smoking, injury on account of biting the tongue or insides of the cheek, braces, acidity and hormonal changes could be some of the contributing aspects. The symptoms include:

• Swollen skin (more so around the sores)
• Tenderness of the skin resulting in problems with chewing or even brushing the teeth
• Loss of appetite
• Inability to consume food due to irritation of the sores caused by the nature of food consumed (salty, spicy, and sour foods)
• Inflammation around the mouth
• A sudden increase in bad breath

Being the most common type of ulcer, this is known to reduce in a few days and disappear over a period of 2 or 3 weeks even without any treatment. However, the intake of B-complex tablets would make the situation easy for anyone to handle.

While to above-mentioned ulcers are the most common ones, the good news is that they are all curable through a course of antibiotics and other medicines.