Chronic gastritis is one of the common pathologies that can be attributed to the so-called diseases of the century. More and more people get it at any age. If for several decades in a row it was mostly young people who suffered: students, workers in complex professions, now even preschoolers are getting sick. Why is this happening, how to stop this epidemic, and most importantly - what symptoms of chronic gastritis do we know? How not to miss the alarm bells sent by the body? Here are answers to many common questions from patients. But remember that if you experience the slightest symptoms that do not go away even within 2-3 days, you should immediately consult a doctor.
What is gastritis
Before you figure out what symptoms of chronic gastritis in adults and children exist, you should discuss what kind of disease it is. When exposed to specific harmful factors, changes in the stomach, namely on its mucous membrane, are possible. It is damaged, acquires a structure that is different from the norm.
The mucosa protects the organ from aggressive effectsgastric juice, which consists of hydrochloric acid (the strongest acid in nature). If at least a microscopic wound appears in the wall of the stomach (and in this case, the integrity of the mucous membrane is violated in its place), then pain and other symptoms appear. Thus, the stomach does not function properly, nutrients are poorly absorbed or not perceived at all.
Depending on what pathogen or what factor affected the violation of the integrity of the stomach, as well as the degree and depth of damage to the walls of the organ, a diagnosis is established with the addition of a classification. For example, chronic atrophic gastritis. Symptoms and treatment differ for each type of disease.
How to recognize an ailment
The very first and most common symptom is pain, discomfort in the stomach. Of course, such a nuisance can happen even to a he althy person, especially if he is poisoned by unsuitable food or takes a medicine that has a detrimental effect on the gastrointestinal tract. As a rule, in this case, the pain disappears after a while.
When it comes to gastritis, pain and discomfort either persist for a long time, or appear and disappear from time to time. In any case, if the stomach does not pass within 1-2 days, you should consult a doctor.
Let's look at some more common symptoms of chronic gastritis:
- stomach constantly growls, shrinks or swells (feels like);
- pain during or after eating;
- hunger pains;
- belching air;
- nausea;
- bloating;
- vomit;
- liquid stool;
- food disgust.
At least 2-3 of the listed signs can be considered a reason for contacting a medical institution.
Who to contact for help
Any problems associated with the digestive system, including the stomach, are solved in the office of a gastroenterologist. This is a medical specialist whose duties include:
- gathering an anamnesis from the words of the patient;
- palpation;
- appointment/gastroscopy;
- appointment of additional tests and examinations;
- gastritis treatment;
- he alth diet recommendations.
Only a gastroenterologist has the right to make a preliminary or accurate diagnosis based on complaints and symptoms. Chronic gastritis is treated strictly as prescribed by the doctor. Any deviations and indulgences can provoke a relapse, and the prescribed treatment will be ineffective. Therefore, everything recommended by the specialist should be clearly and strictly observed.
You can apply both to the state polyclinic (hospital) at the place of residence, and to paid medical centers. Unfortunately, the situation with the first ones is complicated - there may be queues for several days, or even weeks in advance by appointment. But in no case should stomach diseases be postponed "for later", the sooner treatment begins, the greater the chance of recovery. Therefore, you should contact a paid specialist.
Kwhat examinations to prepare for
Often, the patient goes to the doctor when a relapse occurs due to non-compliance with a sparing diet, maintaining a habitual lifestyle. If inflammation has begun in the stomach, then it will not disappear by itself. In the same way, exacerbation of chronic gastritis is manifested. The symptoms and treatment of this pathology may differ with each relapse. For example, for the first time, the doctor prescribed one treatment based on the results of the examination, and after 1 year - a completely different one.
So what is the usual clinical diagnosis? List:
- gastroscopy (EGDS/FGDS);
- urinalysis;
- general and biochemical blood tests;
- x-ray (if necessary);
- CT (if necessary);
- additional tests;
- test to determine the acidity of the stomach (pH-metry);
- biopsy (if necessary).
But the most basic are the first three types of examinations and pH-metry. When contacting a paid institution, you can do everything in advance to come to the doctor for a consultation with the results.
Factors of disease occurrence
Often people ask why did pathology arise? The doctor can only list briefly:
- bad food;
- nervous stress;
- heredity.
On the one hand, this is true, on the other hand, we need to consider the problem deeper. For example, if the problem is poor nutrition, then there are several specific reasons hiding here:
- non-compliance with the diet and ignoring body signals(when the stomach needs food and drink);
- malnutrition (dry food, fast food, artificial ingredients in food);
- swallowing chunks without chewing thoroughly.
As for stress, nervous periods, this is also true. The fact is that any organ of the gastrointestinal tract reacts sharply to the psycho-emotional load, including the stomach. But the symptoms of chronic gastritis do not necessarily appear after any stress. This stress must be prolonged or constant before the disease develops.
Heredity can be both genetic and external traditional. In the first case, the closest relatives of the patient also suffer from this disease, and in the second case, malnutrition and lifestyle are passed on from generation to generation.
What provokes gastritis
Everything discussed in the previous part of the article refers to the so-called root causes of the disease. When a violation occurs from the outside, the process of changing the environment also begins inside the body. If in a normal state a person's organs are in good condition, in which diseases cannot occur, then in case of deviations, a pathogen necessarily appears.
The bacterium Helicobacter pylori is the most common culprit in chronic gastritis with high acidity. Symptoms usually occur with the appearance of these microorganisms in the stomach. There is belching, nausea. Stomach pain after or during meals.
It happensgastritis and with normal or low acidity. In such cases, it is usually not the harmful microorganism that is to blame, but external factors:
- constant intake of drugs that have a bad effect on the walls of the stomach, including the mucous membrane;
- smoking and alcohol;
- mechanical damage by large food and foreign bodies;
- drinking water with meals.
Also, the disease can occur due to poor ecology and harmful production factors.
How to treat an exacerbation
Any exacerbation, even a slight one, must be treated as prescribed by the doctor based on the results of the examinations. Usually therapy is carried out at home with:
- special therapeutic diet;
- pharmaceutical drugs;
- folk remedies;
- mineral water.
Chronic gastritis is most often treated with the diet "Table 1", "Table 1-a" or "Table 1-b". Only the attending physician, who is familiar with all the nuances and knows how the disease proceeds, chooses a nutrition scheme. That is, the patient should eat only pureed food - cereals, boiled vegetables (except for white cabbage, radish, radish, garlic). All foods with a sharp taste (spicy, s alty, spicy, smoked, sweet) are completely excluded. In general, food should be fresh and natural. Symptoms and treatment of chronic gastritis are gradually reduced to nothing after 1-1.5 months, if the patient applied to a medical institution on time and complies with everything that is prescribed. Meals should be fractional, but in small portions. That is, you need to eat 5-6 times a day at the sametime, but not much.
In addition, doctors prescribe drugs to restore the functions of the stomach, mucous membranes, destroy the pathogen and for other purposes.
Folk remedies have always been appreciated by those who are treated with plant materials, and especially herbal decoctions. It is known that some plants often cope with stomach diseases no worse than pills. But to find out which herbal teas are suitable, you need to contact your doctor.
Mineral waters can speed up the healing process due to the fact that they contain the necessary trace elements for the body.
What to do to be cured forever
Everyone who has become acquainted with the symptoms of an exacerbation of chronic gastritis wonders what to do so that the disease does not return. In addition, it is difficult to maintain a strict monthly diet. When the stomach recovers, the person gradually returns to the usual food. But is modern food familiar to the body, is it natural? Not really. Various food additives, hot spices, unhe althy foods, chemicals, chewing gum and sweets often provoke problems with the digestive system.
It is better to abandon gastronomic experiments in favor of your own he alth. For example, potatoes are best boiled or baked, rather than fried in a pan or in a deep fryer. During a festive feast, it is better to give preference to a he althy vinaigrette, and not a cake with mastic. Drinks should be pure water, not soda andalcohol.
It is better to get used to simple meals than to start treatment again after a while. In addition, stress should be avoided. As you know, all diseases are from nerves.
What happens if left untreated
The person who has only recently learned about gastritis may decide that everything will go away gradually, because the stomach sometimes hurts. Actually, you can't do that. The fact is that the already injured gastric mucosa will continue to become inflamed. During a meal, if it is not chewed thoroughly, the walls of the organ are even more injured. If at the initial stage they could diagnose superficial gastritis, then after a while the doctor would find damage to the deeper layers of the walls of the stomach. Thus, the person felt much worse, even chronic atrophic gastritis could develop. Symptoms with this type of disease are much more unpleasant:
- heavy burping of food;
- burning;
- cardiac colic;
- bad taste and bad breath;
- nausea;
- drop in blood pressure.
If you continue to lead a normal life, then everything can end with a stomach ulcer up to death.
Could there be no symptoms?
Indeed, if a person has never complained about the digestive organs, then he could not lose sight of the disease, since it always gives symptoms for the first time. Chronic gastritis in adults practically does not differ from adolescents and children, only the methods of treatment differ.
Asymptomatic disease occurs only inthose who entered the remission stage. This means that a person, having undergone a course of treatment, recovers, but for a while. Exacerbations often occur in spring and autumn, when the climate changes dramatically and the body weakens.
He alth maintenance
Following symptoms of chronic gastritis can be avoided forever or for a long time if you maintain he alth:
- a full-fledged lifestyle (modes of work, rest);
- an established diet (at the same time when the stomach asks for food);
- full sleep (at least 7-8 hours in a row);
- he althy and natural plant foods, cereals, seafood, dairy products;
- regular outdoor walks;
- vitamin therapy;
- rest in a sanatorium or on the sea;
- avoiding unpleasant situations, depression and stress.
It is very difficult for a modern person to fulfill all the points, but it is necessary if you want to be he althy.
False symptoms
It should be noted that some symptoms may be false, for example:
- stomach pain;
- nausea and vomiting;
- loose stools.
Such troubles may indicate other diseases that are not related to chronic gastritis. The symptoms and treatment, respectively, will be completely different and even, perhaps, by a doctor of a different profile.
Can I get by with folk remedies?
Synthetic drugs do not always benefit the body. Often there are side effects. Moreover, not all patients havefunds for expensive treatment. If the disease is not very advanced, then the gastroenterologist may prescribe the treatment of chronic gastritis with folk remedies. Symptoms during herbal treatment are sometimes removed even faster and more efficiently due to the beneficial components in the decoction, the extract of plant materials.
Apply in the treatment of gastritis bee products, mummy, cedar resin and other natural remedies. You should only choose one thing from a trusted manufacturer.
In traditional medicine, experts assume that most diseases cannot be cured. These include chronic gastritis. Symptoms and treatment in adults are often similar in general terms. For example, every patient has stomach pain and nausea. And as medicines as part of complex therapy, the popular drug "De-nol" is prescribed.
