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Gastritis
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Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach. Gastritis can be acute, lasting only a short period of time, or chronic, lasting a long period of time. Infections of the stomach are often associated with gastritis, particularly infections with Helicobacter pylori. A traumatic injury necessitating the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications can trigger painful gastritis. Alcohol use contributes to the development of gastritis in some individuals. Gastritis can be severe or can be mild and self limited.
The most common symptoms of gastritis include a burning pain or gnawing pain in the upper stomach that may come on with eating or be made better by eating. Nausea and vomiting are problems seen in gastritis. It is common to have a loss of appetite associated with belching and bloating. After eating, there is often fullness in the upper abdomen. You often lose weight due to chronic discomfort.
Acute gastritis comes on suddenly and is more likely to result in nausea and burning in the stomach area. Chronic gastritis comes on slowly and most people feel a dull pain or discomfort in the abdomen. In some people, there can be chronic gastritis that leads to no symptoms at all. Bleeding secondary to gastritis can happen but is not that common and not usually severe. If it is moderate to severe, you may have black, tarry stools or blood in the stools. See your doctor if that occurs.
Gastritis happens when the stomach's protective lining becomes damaged or weak. This causes the acid in the stomach to inflame the lining of the stomach. There are a number of factors that can cause gastritis. These include being infected with H. pylori, a bacterium that commonly infects the gastrointestinal tract. Your doctor can do a blood test for antibodies to H. pylori and can treat the infection. Most people who are infected with H. pylori have no symptoms but under situations of other illnesses, medication use and stress, the infection can contribute to the breakdown of the stomach lining.
The use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications is associated with gastritis. This includes medications like aspirin, ibuprofen, and naproxen (Aleve). Taking these medications on an empty stomach and taking too many of these medications can have an impact on the risk of gastritis. Even using these medications the right way but using them continuously can contribute to getting gastritis.
Excessive use of alcohol can cause irritation and erosion of the stomach lining. It makes the digestive juices more likely to penetrate the lining and cause inflammation of the stomach lining. If you are under a great deal of medical stress including major surgery or traumatic injury, you can trigger acute or chronic gastritis.
If bile refluxes up into the stomach, it can irritate the lining of the stomach and can cause gastritis. Normally, bile travels from the gallbladder to the duodenum and down to the small intestines. If it travels up to the stomach, the stomach isn't happy with it and can become irritated.
There is a condition called autoimmune gastritis in which the body attacks its own cells of the lining of the stomach. It wears away the lining of the stomach and is related to other autoimmune diseases such as type I diabetes and Hashimoto's disease. Medical conditions such as AIDS, parasitic infections, Crohn's disease and some connective tissue diseases can result in acute or chronic gastritis. People of older age are more prone to getting gastritis, in part because they are more likely to have an H. pylori infection and autoimmune diseases.
Doctors test for gastritis in several ways. There are blood tests that check to see if you have antibodies to H. pylori. Breath tests are available that can tell if you are actively infected with H. pylori. Tests for H. pylori can be done via a stool test for the bacterium. Blood in the stool can be assessed using a sample of your stool. Many gastroenterologists do an upper GI endoscopy, which is a camera test that looks at and biopsies the lining of the stomach. Medication is given to sedate you prior to the procedure. Upper GI X-rays can be done to see if there are any abnormalities of the stomach lining.
Treatment of gastritis involves stopping alcohol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications. Sometimes this is all it takes. Medications to take for gastritis include antibiotics to get rid of H. pylori, medications that act as antacids to soothe the stomach acid and allow for healing of the stomach lining, and acid blockers like Tagamet, Zantac or Axid. These block the acid production and allow for healing of the lining of the stomach. Acid pump inhibitors are newer medication that block the production of acid in the stomach and are effective in reducing the stomach acid, allowing for healing of the stomach lining.