Gastritis: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment and Prevention

In medicine, there are only two main forms of the disease: acute and chronic gastritis. Accordingly, chronic gastritis is treatable worse, but what are the differences between them? We'll talk about this and many other things below.

In general, the article will consist of the following items:

Symptoms of gastritis

Causes of gastritis

What are the types of gastritis

Treating gastritis with folk remedies

How to treat gastritis with drugs at home

Prevention of gastritis

Symptoms of gastritis

During an acute gastritis a person can experience the following symptoms:

Heaviness in the upper abdomen, but the person does not fully understand what it is - pain or a full stomach and nausea.

Pain in the left hypochondrium, back, upper abdomen. A painful sensation can appear both in the morning and immediately after a meal.

Vomiting and nausea after eating, which is accompanied by an eructation with an unpleasant odor.

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Lack of appetite, and very long.

The abdomen swells even after eating a small amount of food.

But gastritis is a rather hidden disease, because the symptoms are quite common for any gastrointestinal ailments. Symptoms do not indicate the presence of the disease, but signal the importance of medical examination. A person can practically not experience symptoms and pay no attention to them, if they are not pronounced, but then they appear after drinking alcohol in large quantities. Gastritis manifests itself during the administration of antibiotics or antipyretic drugs, for example, aspirin. Also, because of stress, a person is disturbed by metabolism, and the speed of digestion of food, this will necessarily affect gastritis.

Chronic gastritis is even more difficult to detect, because the disease is already ingrained and discomfort has become familiar to humans. He may not know about himself for a very long time, there will be no symptoms, but then they will manifest themselves in a very acute form. Symptoms of chronic gastritis are the same:

Stool disorder: constipation or diarrhea.

Vomiting after eating.

Weight loss.

Lack of appetite.

Prolonged pains that are localized in the upper abdomen.

Nausea with eating. Unpleasant odor from the mouth.

With exacerbations, gastritis begins to show the same symptoms as the acute form of the disease. But chronic gastritis is not the most dangerous form, there is also autoimmune and atrophic gastritis, which affects the working capacity of a person and affects all life spheres. Of the symptoms to note the most common:

Dizziness and weakness, the inability to exercise physical activity.

Small sores on the entire surface of the tongue.

Disruption of absorption of vitamins, which reduces the amount of B group vitamins in the blood and leads to general physical weakness and even gait and coordination disorders.

Unstable stool: diarrhea is replaced by constipation and so on.

Causes of gastritis

No disease appears just like that. Gastritis develops gradually if a person eats in the evenings and nights in huge portions, does not follow the diet, can eat hot, and then immediately sweet. All this leads to the destruction of the walls of the stomach, the mucosa becomes inflamed, and then her condition becomes worse and worse. Inflammation occurs due to the fact that the body struggles with deformation in the mucous tissues, which arises from the use of different foods, especially - cold and hot. Also, gastritis is affected by infections and antibiotics, if you are taking antibiotics, take care of the gastrointestinal tract, otherwise gastritis can not be avoided.

But one of the most frequent causes is the bacterium Helicobacter pylori. Although the association of this bacterium with gastritis and gastric ulcer was discovered not so long ago - the reliability of the information was confirmed, since getting rid of the bacterium can be cured not only of gastritis, but also of stomach ulcers. To detect Helicobacter pylori is not difficult, it is a very dangerous bacterium, which destroys the gastric mucosa. If the destruction is superficial and the bacterium does not pass further - there will be acute or chronic gastritis. In more serious cases, the bacterium can go deeper, which will injure the stomach and lead to an ulcer.

Often, the disease appears after taking antipyretics. Everyone knows that aspirin, despite its effectiveness, contains acid, which leads to a burn of the gastric mucosa. But this effect can be obtained with the use of alcoholic beverages in large quantities. Often people by their own mistake or inattention add to the meal a large amount of vinegar, which also leads to gastritis. Of course, medications work much more aggressive than alcoholic beverages, because they contain substances that reduce the immunity of the stomach. Even with the use of ointments and creams, you can get gastritis, because some of the active substances pass under the skin.

What should you consider in your diet so as not to fall ill with such an unpleasant disease? The most common nutritional errors leading to gastritis:

People do not chew enough food and swallow it through strength. In addition, they do not even drink food, which leads to injuries to the mucous membrane. In this case, the process of digestion will be slowed down several times, and the dry food will lie in the stomach for a long time.

The temperature of food is very important, since cold or hot food can injure the walls of the stomach. Organism, in order to digest food, you must first cool it or warm it to the desired temperature. During this process, the gastric mucosa will be damaged.

If a person regularly eats very spicy or salty foods, then after a while the mucous membrane will become inflamed. The fact is that spicy food also leads to a burn, as well as antipyretic drugs. After taking acute or salty foods, you need to drink milk, which will help restore the gastric mucosa.

Also it must not be forgotten that the disease may depend on the characteristics of your immunity. For example, the immune system can make a mistake and struggle with one's own organism, and not with the bacteria that have penetrated it. Such diseases are called autoimmune, so there is even a gastritis with the same name. Autoimmune gastritis is dangerous because it is hard to treat, all the antibodies that must cope with the disease - deform the walls of the stomach, only rooting gastritis. That is why, with the slightest problems with immunity, you need to consult a doctor, otherwise the consequences will be very unpleasant, and treatment - long and costly.

In most people, acute gastritis appears imperceptibly. How does this happen? First, people eat hot and hot food at night in large quantities or simply can not eat at the right time because of the work, and after that the gastric shell is deformed and at any time Helicobacter pylori can penetrate inside. But the disease begins even before the bacteria penetrates, because the mucosa is already damaged. Penetration of the bacterium will be the final stage, when the gastritis is already in a chronic form.

What are the types of gastritis

As already mentioned above, there is a chronic and acute gastritis. It is much easier to detect acute gastritis, since the microflora with pathogenic bacteria grows very quickly if a person uses medicines or other chemicals. True, gastritis is not the most dangerous disease, if you constantly drink antibiotics and antipyretic drugs, you may have a stomach ulcer or a complete deformation of the walls of the stomach. During the development of the disease, the integrity of the mucous membrane deteriorates, and then substances that disrupt the immune system of the body begin to be produced. When the immune system stops working correctly - inflammation of the mucous membrane begins. Gastritis is an attempt by the body to get rid of the disease, but it remains an independent disease that affects the digestion and assimilation of food.

Acute gastritis can appear due to an improper diet when a person consumes food with pathogens during an allergy. The acute form of the disease provokes deformation of the walls of the stomach, but insignificant, since after a while the body is restored without additional help. True, for this the immune system needs to get rid of the root cause of the disease.

Erosive gastritis can be the result of taking aggressive alkalis and acids, which negatively affect the gastric mucosa. Because of this, not only the outer layer of the walls of the stomach is destroyed, but also the inner one, which leads to much more dangerous diseases, for example, the stomach ulcer, which is very difficult to treat.

Phlegmonous gastritis is characterized by the appearance of purulent inflammation in the gastric mucosa. As a rule, it appears after taking solid food particles, for example, uncleaned fish, when the bones get stuck inside and begin to rot. Also, this may be due to the ingestion of microorganisms into the stomach. Immediately after the onset of the disease, a person experiences a temperature of 38-40 degrees Celsius and incredibly severe pain in the stomach. To cure such a gastritis at home is impossible, the help of an experienced surgeon is needed, and the earlier the operation is, the better. If the operation is not carried out, then a person will die from peritonitis, which can not be cured.

Fibrinous gastritis is the rarest form of the disease that occurs when sepsis is infected with blood. Accordingly, in the first place it is necessary to cure the root cause of the disease, and only then the residual effects of gastritis.

With the right treatment, you can get rid of an acute gastritis for a week, however, completely the stomach will recover only after a few months. During acute gastritis, there are problems with digestion, since gastric juice is produced in large quantities with a high content of hydrochloric acid. This form of gastritis is called hyperacid. If you do not treat acute gastritis for a long time, it will go into chronic form. As well as other chronic diseases, it will appear rarely, but very much. For example, after eating a person may have nausea and pain in the stomach, and then it will completely pass away, and the symptoms will not appear.

Optional chronic gastritis appears after a prolonged absence of acute treatment, it can appear as a separate disease. Thus the person will not feel any signs and indispositions, therefore illness can proceed latent for a long time. Appear chronic gastritis can for the following reasons:

Penetration into the body of a pathogenic bacterium called Helicobacter pylori.

Autoimmune effect on the stomach: the defenses of the body will direct the bacteria directly to the gastric mucosa.

Consequences of gallbladder and liver disease: bile will enter the stomach in large quantities, which will lead to irritation of the mucosa.

Chronic form of gastritis is much more dangerous than acute. The thing is that the degree of damage is much wider and deeper, therefore the body tries to restore the affected tissue. But here there is a mistake: connective tissue is restored, but functional and useful cells are gradually replaced, which leads to mucosal atrophy and deterioration of the human condition. Almost always chronic gastritis has a decreased or increased acidity, but more often there is a hypoacid form - reduced acidity of the stomach. In this case, you can not even suspect about the presence of the disease, because if the symptoms appear, then for a very short time. Periodically, after taking medication or alcohol, a person has heartburn, and then severe pain begins. Often there are strange sounds in the stomach, for example, rumbling. Of course, the food is not fully absorbed, sooner or later a person faces diarrhea.

Detecting a chronic form is much easier if it is caused by Helicobacter pylori. Because of this, the cells of the stomach are not restored, so the person begins to experience pain inside the whole body, and then the temperature increases, which characterizes the infectious disease. All this forces a person to turn to the therapist and go for a full medical examination of the body, including the passage of the FGDs.

Treatment of gastritis with folk remedies

Folk recipes can cure gastritis with increased and decreased acidity. Naturally, different ingredients are selected for preparing the medicine.

Drugs for the treatment of high acidity and gastritis

Potato juice is very effective for the treatment of gastric diseases, it is even recommended by gastroenterologists. Drink squeezed juice from potatoes every morning, always on an empty stomach and half an hour before eating. After drinking the juice, do not make sharp movements and reduce physical activity: lie down, rest, think about something good. It should be treated for two weeks, despite the fact that you will feel considerable relief after 2 days. Juice effectively cures exacerbations of gastritis.

For intensive pain, you need to use the licorice root. Decoction of the root quickly relieves pain and has no contraindications. Take 10 grams of root and chop, then add 200 milliliters of hot water, and then let it brew for 40-50 minutes. Then boil the broth over low heat for half an hour, and then strain through the gauze fabric. Drink the broth twice a day in the morning and at bedtime, consume at least 100 milliliters( half a glass) half an hour before meals. You can completely get rid of gastritis for 10 days of treatment.

Many people have an allergic reaction to honey, both on light varieties, and on dark ones. But if you have allergies, use it as a medicine for gastritis. Mix in a glass 200 ml of filtered warm water and 30 grams of honey of any kind, and then drink a volley half an hour before eating. Be sure to pour warm water, as it will quickly become absorbed. Drink water with honey for exactly a month, then repeat the treatment if you do not achieve a positive result.

Carrot juice not only supplies body tissues with essential vitamins, but also helps in the treatment of gastritis. Squeeze the juice from a mature carrot, and then eat in the morning about 100-150 milliliters. Drink the juice until you feel relieved. Many are frightened during treatment because the urine changes color to a darker one - it's not scary, the fact is that juice affects the color of urine.

Drugs for the treatment of low acidity and gastritis
If you after a medical examination saw in the conclusion of a doctor a diagnosis - gastritis with a low acidity, you can not use the above medicines. Because of this you can only suffer, as the acidity will decrease even more. But traditional medicine successfully cures gastritis with high acidity, there are many ways to increase the amount of acid in gastric juice and cure gastritis.

Tincture from the roots of elecampane helps to get rid of the disease. Take 20 grams of roots and pour a glass of boiling water, and then put in a dish with enamel coating. Add more water and put on fire, then wait for the boil and insist root for 30 minutes. Then strain the root through the cheesecloth and eat, regardless of the meal, 20 ml of broth five times a day. Duration of treatment is 14 days.

You can use whipped egg whites as a medicine. Use them 30 minutes before the morning meal for two months, and you will forget that you once had a gastritis.

How to treat gastritis with drugs at home

At the moment, there are two of the best drugs for gastritis: Almagel and Vicalin. The drug Almagel is a mixture of enveloping and antacid substances. You can not use it with water, and you can not drink water exactly one hour after using the medicine. After taking it, you need to lie on your side and periodically turn over, for example, every 2-5 minutes. This is done so that the medicine gets on the walls of the stomach evenly. Cure for gastritis can be done in one month, but it is better to consult a doctor before starting treatment.

Vicalin - contains substances that neutralize spasms, bind and relieve inflammation of the stomach. It is prescribed for chronic and acute form of gastritis with an increased amount of gastric juice and inflammation of the walls of the stomach. If the acidity is lowered, you need to use Swedish bitterness, wormwood tincture and plantain juice, but strictly after consulting a doctor. Thanks to bitterness, you can speed up digestion and improve your appetite.

Prevention of gastritis

As in the case of other gastrointestinal diseases, you need to normalize your diet and think about a diet that will appeal to you. Below we list some important rules that will help you avoid the disease:

Normalize the amount of complex carbohydrates, simple proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals in the diet.

Eat 4-5 meals a day, but in small portions, so as not to load the stomach.

The last meal should be taken 3-4 hours before bedtime.

Always thoroughly chew food and drink, so that the stomach is not overloaded.

Do not eat too hot or cold food. For example, you can not eat hot potatoes with chicken, and then for dessert there is cold ice cream. This is a strong stress for the stomach.

Do not drink alcohol especially with a high alcohol content.

Do not eat undercooked and undercooked meat, as bacteria and microbes remain in it.

Give up strongly spicy, smoked and salty foods.

Do not drink antipyretic drugs if this can be avoided.

We sincerely wish you health and never experience symptoms of gastritis!