What is the first symptom of erosive gastritis in humans? If you do not own this information, then we will answer this question in detail in the presented article. In addition, we will tell you about what types of this disease exist, as well as how they are diagnosed and treated.
General information about the disease
What are the signs of erosive gastritis? The symptoms of this disease will be presented below. Now I want to tell you about what the mentioned disease is in general.
Erosive gastritis is a very common disorder characterized by destruction of the gastric mucosa. In the initial stage of the disease, lesions can be small and localized only on the outer shell of the digestive organ. But as the disease progresses, erosion can spread to a large area, which ultimately contributes to the appearance of pronounced symptoms of gastritis.
Main species
Know aboutwhich symptom of erosive gastritis appears first is very important. After all, the timely treatment of this disease contributes to the rapid and painless healing of all internal lesions.
In medical practice, gastritis is usually classified into several types. Their defining feature is the localization of lesions, as well as the stage of development of the disease. Consider the types of diseases mentioned in more detail.
Acute gastritis
Acute gastritis is the most severe form of the disease. Fortunately, it is very rare in patients. With such a disease, the entire gastric mucosa is covered with shallow (superficial) lesions. As a rule, such a disease is detected after the deliberate or accidental use of chemicals, poisons or any concentrated acids. How is the exacerbation of erosive gastritis? Symptoms of this deviation appear abruptly.
Chronic or hemorrhagic erosive gastritis
What is chronic erosive gastritis? Symptoms of this disease are often felt by people who lead an unhe althy lifestyle (alcohol abuse, poor diet, long-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs). Such a disease is characterized by the presence of large erosions ranging in size from 3 to 7 millimeters, as well as inflammation of the internal integument of the main digestive organ.
Erosive antral gastritis
Why antral erosive gastritis develops, the symptoms of whichmanifested in severe pain in the epigastric region? This disease is caused by the bacteria Helicobacter pylori. Such microorganisms live in an alkaline environment mainly in the lower part of the stomach, under the mucus. Bacteria can cause quite severe inflammation of the gastric mucosa. At the same time, damaged tissue regenerates for a very long time.
Erosive reflux gastritis
This disease develops due to the reflux of the contents of the duodenum into the stomach. At the same time, severe edema and ulcers can be observed on the mucosa of the main digestive organ, which rapidly increase in size. The main symptom of erosive gastritis (reflux) is hematemesis. Its appearance is caused by the fact that the destroyed tissues of the stomach begin to gradually exfoliate and come out.
Erosive gastritis: symptoms and treatment
Depending on the type of gastritis, its symptoms can vary markedly. Acute illness is characterized by the following symptoms:
- heartburn;
- vomit (may be bloody);
- feeling sick;
- unstable stool (may be bloody);
- feeling of heaviness (and sometimes pain) in the stomach after eating;
- dull pain in the stomach, which is especially often worse after eating.
As a rule, with acute gastritis, symptoms appear suddenly. In this case, the patient's condition deteriorates sharply. In this regard, the disease is difficult not to notice.
Which symptom of erosive gastritis appears first, ifAre you talking about the chronic stage? In this case, the disease proceeds differently. Very often, erosive-hemorrhagic gastritis develops without any signs. And only at the last stage of the disease can a person observe an admixture of blood in the stool or vomiting. As for antral gastritis, the following signs may indicate it:
- flatulence;
- heaviness and discomfort in the stomach;
- nausea;
- loss of appetite.
How is it diagnosed?
Now you know why erosive gastritis (symptoms) develops and what signs it has. Diet for this kind of disease is the main method of treatment. We will talk about it in detail below. After all, before proceeding with the treatment of the disease, it is necessary to identify its presence and determine the stage of development. To do this, we recommend contacting a gastroenterologist or therapist. After questioning and examining the patient, the doctor must prescribe a series of tests and examinations.
As a rule, patients with signs of erosive gastritis are first of all recommended to undergo EGD. During this procedure, a special device, an endoscope, is inserted into the stomach. It is a tube with a camera at the end. Using this device, a specialist (endoscopist) carefully examines the surface of the mucous membrane, revealing erosive ulcers that are located on it.
During the described procedure, the doctor may perform a biopsy. To do this, a piece of inflamed tissue is taken, and then examined for Helicobacter pylori orother abnormalities (for example, the presence of a malignant tumor, etc.).
Due to the discomfort during EGD, many people refuse this procedure. This is a big mistake. After all, this is the only way to establish the true cause of severe pain in the epigastric region and assess the degree of damage to the gastric mucosa.
If the doctor cannot make the correct diagnosis, he will not be able to prescribe the necessary treatment. And this is fraught with very serious consequences.
By the way, in addition to EGD, the patient is recommended to take other tests:
- Blood test (general). The presence of anemia very often indicates bleeding during exacerbation of gastritis.
- Fecal test for occult blood.
- Have an x-ray (very rare).
The process of drug treatment of erosive gastritis
The first step in treatment after diagnosis is to eliminate the cause of gastritis. In the event that the disease is caused by Helicobacter pylori bacteria, then therapy cannot be carried out without the use of antibiotic drugs. Most often, the patient is prescribed the following drugs: Tetracycline, Levofloxacin, Clarithromycin, Amoxicillin. These medications require long-term use. If the course of antibiotics is unjustifiably interrupted, then harmful microorganisms will resume their reproduction.
The second stage of treatment is the normalization of the acidity of gastric juice. The mucous membrane of the maindigestive organ, affected by erosion, must be protected from irritants. To do this, the patient may be prescribed antacids and acid blockers.
Because the mentioned drugs muffle the action of gastric juice, additional enzymes are needed for better digestion of food. Means such as Mezim, Creon or Digestal enhance the secretory function well.
The third stage of treatment is the restoration of the mucosa. The medicines Iberogast and Trental cope well with this task. These funds supply the affected tissues well with oxygen and promote rapid regeneration.
Can I treat myself?
Now you know how to treat and what signs erosive gastritis has (symptoms). Treatment with folk remedies is not recommended if you have no idea how to do it. After all, using unconventional methods, you can aggravate the already difficult condition of the patient. That is why, at the first signs of the disease, you should consult an experienced gastroenterologist.
Diet for gastritis
As mentioned above, diet is the key to successful and quick treatment of any erosive gastritis. Doctors recommend that the patient completely abandon fried and pickled. It is also necessary to exclude various spices, canned foods, smoked meats and pickles. In addition, sweets should not be consumed, including pastries, chocolate, coffee, strong tea, alcohol, carbonated drinks, naturalfreshly squeezed juices, lemons and other citrus fruits.
The diet of a patient diagnosed with "erosive gastritis" should consist only of light soups. They must be prepared from vegetables with the addition of a small amount of lean meat (for example, chicken breasts, veal, turkey). It also recommends eating oatmeal, pearl barley and buckwheat porridge without butter. Sometimes you can treat yourself to mashed potatoes, vegetable stew and other diet foods.
In addition to all the listed dishes, a person with erosive gastritis is also prescribed fermented milk ingredients such as cottage cheese, sour cream, kefir, and so on. However, they should not have a high fat content and be too acidic. By the way, it is better to exclude milk from your diet, as it causes flatulence.
The source of protein during the diet can be boiled fish (lean) and steamed eggs in the form of an omelette.
Also, special attention should be paid to the diet. The patient should sit down at the dining table 5 times a day. At the same time, food portions should be small. Products should be chewed thoroughly so that rough and sinewy pieces do not injure the walls of the digestive organ.
