What is erosive reflux esophagitis? This is a common question. Let's look into it in more detail.
All pathological processes in the esophagus at first glance do not differ from each other and have almost the same manifestations. For a person who is not initiated into the basics of medicine, erosive esophagitis is another inflammation of this organ of the digestive system, no one can find the difference between such diseases. However, in reality this is not the case, and sometimes only a specialist will make the correct diagnosis during the interview, but all the dots will be finally placed with the help of additional examinations. On the esophagus, erosions appear in the later period of esophagitis or when a strong aggressive factor influences the organ.
Diagnosis
This type of esophagitis is quite rare. However, the disease causes a number of troubles due to severe course and forced long-term treatment, which sometimes takes a long time to select.
Erosive esophagitis: what is itrepresents? With ordinary inflammation of the esophagus, the mucosa acquires a bright pink or red color with edema. However, with the continued influence of aggressive food, harmful chemicals or other irritating factors, serious transformations appear on it. The protective outer layer, faced with unpleasant effects every day, begins to thin in some places. Over time, areas with inflammation of the mucosa, called erosion, appear on it. It refers to the places where the mucosa is exposed, and the affected organ is not able to perform its inherent functions.
In the absence of patient care about their he alth and further ignoring all pathological manifestations, even stronger tissue defects are formed in the diagnosis of erosive esophagitis. The disease can develop into an ulcerative form. Then both the mucous membrane of the esophagus and the muscular and submucosal layers are affected. This variant of the disease is often complicated by narrowing and bleeding of the esophagus, and therefore requires more careful handling and increased attention not only from specialists, but also from the patient.
Stages of erosive esophagitis
The course of the disease is characterized by several stages, and the symptoms gradually increase, and the erosive lesion of the esophagus becomes more pronounced.
I degree is manifested by separate non-confluent erosions and erythema of the distal esophagus.
II degree - merging, but not capturing the entire surface of the mucous erosivedefeat.
III degree is manifested by ulcerative lesions of the lower third of the esophagus, which merge and cover the entire surface of the mucosa.
IV degree - chronic ulcer of the esophagus, as well as stenosis.
Causes of erosion
Erosions appear on the mucosa of the esophagus due to the strongest influence on its membrane. Why does such a disease as erosive esophagitis of the esophagus occur?
- Most cases are caused by excess stomach acid, which is common with peptic ulcers, duodenal ulcers and GERD.
- Erosion may occur after surgery on the chest.
- In some cases, due to chemical burns that appear on the esophagus after drinking acids or alkalis.
- Chances are increased for smokers who both smoke a cigarette on an empty stomach and drink strong coffee afterwards.
- Serious nervous stress.
Signs of erosive esophagitis
The pathological process is characterized by periods of remission and exacerbation. With an exacerbation of the disease, the patient complains of the following symptoms:
- Heartburn. With normal esophagitis, it is characterized only by unpleasant sensations of burning and heat in the epigastric region and behind the sternum, with erosive esophagitis, this symptom is more pronounced. A person is constantly haunted by burning pains. If the case is especially serious, then heartburn will be caused not only by spices in food and carbonated drinks, but also by a simple daily diet. What other symptoms of erosive esophagitis are there?
- Behind the sternum will befeel pathological sensations during meals, in some cases even after drinking tea. There are also pains in the upper abdomen shortly after swallowing. The esophagus is especially irritated by hard and dry foods, which cause muscle spasms.
- In some cases, inflammation of the esophagus causes hoarseness.
- Rare signs are weakness, occasional nausea and burping immediately after eating.
Erosive esophagitis is severe, its signs can both clarify the picture of the disease and confuse the specialist. One of the non-specific signs is a cough, which most often bothers at night.
Treatment
After a thorough diagnosis (numerous tests, biopsy, X-ray), the doctor determines how and with what to treat a person. Erosive esophagitis includes several blocks of therapy:
- conservative treatment;
- diet (the specialist must make a menu based on the patient's body parameters and his individual preferences;
- rational activity (hardening, outdoor activities, exercise).
Treatment of erosive esophagitis lasts over two months. At this time and in the future, it is advisable to stop using tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.
The main thing in treatment is to establish the correct cause of the pathology and influence it. For example, if the esophagus is damaged by gastric hydrochloric acid in excess, the underlying disease should be treated. In illness caused by chemicalsubstance, it is necessary to exclude contact completely. Before recovery, you also need to completely change your diet. For this purpose, the degree of organ damage is established and a diet is being developed.
Medicated treatment
Standards of drug treatment suggest the use of a number of groups of pills for:
- normalization of microflora inside the body (since one of the consequences of the disease is dysbacteriosis);
- regeneration of inflamed tissues, their speedy healing and further functioning;
- strengthen the immune protective function;
- reducing the pathological consequences of the manifestation of infection;
- anti-inflammatory and antiseptic effects on the body.
What else do you need?
Conservative treatment includes the use of biologically active substances and vitamin complexes. Experts advise doing physiotherapy, and with terminal reflux - exposure to current, that is, amplipulse therapy. In addition, with reflux, it is advisable to take alginates, antacids and antihistamines.
To reduce the pain threshold, any painkillers that are suitable for the patient (Nurofen, No-shpa, etc.) are used. Before purchasing medicines, you need to pay attention to quality standards and certificates, composition, and time of manufacture. To normalize your psycho-emotional state, you need to contact a psychotherapist.
In the absence of efficiencyconservative treatment, surgical intervention should be prescribed. Diet for erosive esophagitis is very important.
Features of the diet in case of illness
Here are the main ones:
- Gentle food handling. Food is best served stewed, steamed or boiled. It is not recommended even to bake food if there is erosion, as it will irritate the esophagus even more.
- With erosive esophagitis, the diet is followed for a long time and raw fruits and vegetables are excluded during therapy.
- Recommended to largely limit the diet of dried fruits, not allowed to eat seeds and nuts.
- Spices, smoked foods, alcohol, cocoa and coffee are removed from the diet.
- At the same time, all the features of dietary nutrition in case of pathologies of the digestive system are preserved: you need to eat often and in small portions, you need to take food for the last time three hours before bedtime, physical activity after a meal is prohibited.
Medication use
Therapy for erosive esophagitis of the esophagus is long until the epithelialization of its mucosa occurs in full.
What medicines are used?
- The main disease is treated as follows: for peptic ulcer or GERD, H2-histamine receptor inhibitors or proton pump blockers are used, alginates, antacids and De-Nol are prescribed.
- For pain, "Spasmomen" and "No-shpa" are used. Doctors prescribe substances for erosive healing ("Solcoseryl").
- Nervous system overexertion recommendedeliminate through herbal teas, sedatives, in rare cases, patients need psychotherapeutic advice.
- Surgical therapy is required in case of pathological complications.
Therapy with folk remedies
In some cases, people try to treat erosive esophagitis with folk remedies. However, such therapy is not justified in all cases. The esophagus can be harmed and worsen the course of the disease.
However, in rare cases, even experts prescribe a decoction of flaxseed to a patient, someone benefits from aloe extract as an immunomodulatory agent, potato juice reduces heartburn.
If a patient has erosive esophagitis, it should not be a tragedy. Such a disease is most often characterized by a favorable course and will not cause problems with timely treatment.
Changes in the patient's life
In addition to changing the diet, the patient may need to make a number of adjustments to his usual lifestyle. In the presence of erosive esophagitis, a person needs to stop smoking and drinking alcohol. Try to eat small amounts more often than usual throughout the day to avoid the excessive pressure that comes from overeating, which in turn helps ease digestion and reduce the chance of acid reflux.
Do not drink while eating - drinks andIt is advisable to drink water between meals. You should start a diary to keep track of which drinks and foods aggravate the signs of erosive esophagitis. If any of them adversely affects the patient's condition, its use should be stopped.
In case of pathology, treatment should be started as early as possible, since there is a risk of such a complication of the disease as Barrett's esophagus, and it is fraught with the occurrence of esophageal cancer.
What is it - erosive reflux esophagitis, now we know.
