Modern medicine knows many diseases. And all of them relate to a variety of systems and organs of the human body. In this article I would like to talk about what are the main and most common diseases of the stomach. Symptoms and treatment - that's what will be discussed next.
About the stomach
At the very beginning, you need to understand the concepts that will be used in the article. So, the stomach (diseases of the gastrointestinal tract - this will be discussed a little later) is the most important organ of the human digestive system. It is located between the esophagus and the duodenum. The main work of the stomach is the digestion of food (due to gastric juice), which gets there. At the same time, due to the villi of the stomach lining, partial absorption of nutrients occurs.
The main signs of stomach diseases
You also need to first consider a variety of signs of stomach disease. After all, thanks to these symptoms, you can independently decide whatsomething is wrong with this body.
- Disturbance of appetite. Very often, patients lose their appetite, which often leads to a disease such as anorexia. If a person began to eat much less, this may indicate problems such as gastritis or tumors. Increased appetite is often discussed if a person has a stomach ulcer or problems with the duodenum. If the patient refuses meat, this may indicate the presence of neoplasms in the body.
- Burp. If it occurs after eating and infrequently, this is normal. A person should be alerted by sour or rotten belching, as well as frequent burping with air.
- Heartburn. It can appear both after eating certain foods, and as a result of diseases. This symptom can "talk" about diseases of the duodenum, as well as a stomach ulcer. Heartburn is also often caused by impaired gastric motility.
- Nausea. This symptom may be a sign of gastritis or neoplasms in the stomach.
- Pain. There is early pain that occurs about 20 minutes after eating. Late pain occurs about a few hours after eating. There are also occasional pains. They occur at times of exacerbation of chronic diseases of the stomach (for example, with an ulcer, exacerbations occur in spring and autumn).
- Blood. Tar-like stools, gastric bleeding are symptoms that indicate serious diseases. It can be erosive gastritis, an ulcer or cancer of the stomach, polyps in the stomach, and other diseases.
- Vomiting. This is the most importanta symptom that may indicate an inflammatory process in the stomach. The content of the vomit is also important.
Stomach cancer can cause vomiting about a few hours after eating.
If the patient has a stomach ulcer, vomiting may start about 15 minutes after eating.
Reasons
If we talk about such a problem as stomach diseases, the reasons - that's what you need to stop. After all, knowing the causes of problems with this organ, you can avoid the development of many diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Overeating or fasting. You need to eat about 4-5 times a day in small portions. At the same time, food should be balanced and nutritious. With long breaks in food intake, a person produces gastric juice, which does not digest food, but the walls of the organ itself. And this causes the occurrence of multiple inflammatory processes.
- Food temperature. Various stomach problems can be caused by cold and hot food (including drinks). So, food, the temperature of which is less than 7 ° C and more than 70 ° C, can lead to diseases. Too cold food leads to a decrease in the digestive power of gastric juice. Too hot food can cause atrophy of the mucous membrane of this organ.
- Malnutrition. For example, insufficient intake of protein foods can reduce gastric secretion. The consumption of alcohol and nicotine also negatively affects the work of this organ.
Other reasons:
- Consumptionpoor quality food.
- Eating indigestible foods.
- Passion for fast food and convenience foods.
- Abuse of spicy foods.
- Insufficient digestion.
- Dry food.
Stomach cancer
What problems can affect the stomach? Diseases are often referred to by doctors as oncology. In this case, it is customary to talk about stomach cancer, which is approximately 40% of all cancers. About the causes of the disease, science is not yet reliable. However, doctors say that men, as well as older people and alcohol lovers, are about 15% more likely to get stomach cancer. Another reason may be a hereditary factor. Main symptoms:
- The first stage. The patient feels weakness, apathy, increased fatigue. Belching, heaviness in the stomach, and weight loss may also occur.
- Second stage. There are already pain, nausea and vomiting. There may be blood in the vomit. This stage is also characterized by gastric bleeding. There may be great weight loss, frequent fever.
- Third stage. The pains become unbearable, there may also be an aversion to food.
Ulcer
Another fairly common problem is stomach ulcers. It is chronic. With this disease, ulcers form on the walls of the stomach in a person, which do not heal and do not disappear anywhere. During an exacerbation and depending on the stage of the disease, they can hurt, bleed, causediscomfort. The main symptoms of gastric ulcer:
- Cutting pains in the stomach. Occur most often on an empty stomach and approximately 2-3 hours after a meal.
- Vomiting.
- Nausea.
- Constipation.
- Heartburn.
How can a stomach ulcer be diagnosed? In this case, the doctor will prescribe an x-ray of the mucosa or endoscopy to the patient. And in order to avoid seasonal exacerbations, the patient needs to eat right (strictly follow the diet prescribed by the doctor).
Gastritis
What can be assumed if the stomach hurts? Diseases that can cause this symptom are acute and chronic gastritis. Symptoms that indicate a problem:
- If it is acute gastritis, the patient will experience various pains (headaches, pain in the pit of the stomach).
- In chronic gastritis, the patient will suffer from nausea, vomiting, heartburn, belching, pain in the heart and heaviness in the abdomen.
Methods for diagnosing these diseases: fibrogastroscopy (in this case, a biopsy of mucosal sites will be important), probing. The strictest dietary nutrition is very important for such patients.
Other diseases
If a person is worried about the stomach, diseases that can also affect this organ may be as follows:
- Gastroptosis or prolapse of the stomach. The main symptoms: loss of appetite, periodic nausea, heaviness in the stomach.
- Hypersecretion of the stomach. Increasing not only juice secretion, but also its acidity. Most often, this disease does not have pronounced symptoms, but is diagnosed using an x-ray.
- Achilia of the stomach. This is inhibition of gastric secretion.
- Pneumatosis. This is increased gas formation in the stomach. In this case, the following symptoms may be observed: frequent belching, pressure in the organ, heaviness in the stomach.
Treatment
So, we briefly reviewed all the main diseases of the stomach. Treatment - that's what you also need to stop. Here it is worth saying that the method of getting rid of the disease in each individual case will be different. It all depends on the diagnosis made by the doctor.
- Very important in the treatment of gastric diseases is nutrition. So, if a person has certain problems with this organ, he must eat all his life according to the rules strictly prescribed by the doctor.
- Taking painkillers. If a person is suffering from stomach pain, in this case, you can take an anesthetic. It could be a drug like No-shpa or Spazmalgon.
- It is also important to normalize the gastric microflora (in this case, most often we are talking about the elimination of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori).
- It is very important to completely eliminate all factors that irritate the mucous membrane. These are smoking, alcohol, spicy seasonings and hot dishes.
- Taking medication prescribed by the doctor. Everything will depend on the diagnosis made by the doctor.
Traditional medicine
We further consider the topic "diseases of the stomach: symptoms and treatment." If the patient is unable or unwilling to seek medical help in case of stomach problems, various diseases can be de alt with using traditional medicine.
Gastritis:
- Green apple. You need to peel it, grate it and eat it in unlimited quantities.
- Each morning on an empty stomach, eat a tablespoon of honey with a glass of warm water.
- Cabbage juice medicine. On a juicer, you need to squeeze the juice of cabbage leaves and drink it half a glass twice a day, an hour before meals.
If the patient has chronic diseases of the stomach, such as an ulcer, they can be de alt with with the help of the following medicines:
- In equal parts, you need to take medicinal valerian, St. John's wort, chamomile and immortelle, marshmallow root and licorice. Everything is poured with boiling water, insisted. You need to take the medicine half a glass three times a day before meals.
- You need to take about 10 grams of common harmala seeds, pour a glass of water and boil over low heat. Then everything is infused for two hours and filtered. The medicine is taken 20 grams before meals 3 times a day.
