Elvis sang about “Burning Love” in a song. He was probably not talking about an ulcer, but he might as well have been. The symptoms are typically described as a burning sensation, and it’s not very pleasant.

The cause of the sensation could be what’s known as a peptic ulcer. Sometimes described as a hole in the stomach or a sore in the lining of the stomach, duodenum or esophagus, an ulcer can cause hours of misery for those who are unlucky enough to have them.

Many people have ulcers, but the good news is that the condition is on the decline. U.S. News & World Report estimates that a half-million new peptic ulcer cases are diagnosed each year, with about 5 million people having symptoms at any one time. An estimated 25 million people will suffer from an ulcer at some point, most between the ages of 25 to 64 years old.

Thanks to the increased efficacy of over-the-counter medications, the bacteria that causes peptic ulcers is slowly being eradicated.

Why Do Ulcers Happen?

The common perception that stress or spicy food causes ulcers has been disproven. While those items can aggravate the condition, they do not cause ulcers.

Instead, ulcers can be traced to an infection of the Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that will throw off the digestive fluids in the stomach and the duodenum, located in the first part of the small intestine.