Such a disease as erosion of the stomach belongs to gastroenterologists among the most common gastroduodenal diseases in humans. This disease is detected in every tenth patient who has been examined with an endoscope. What is gastric erosion? Symptoms, causes, treatment of this disease - these are the points that will be discussed in detail in this article.
Causes that can cause erosion of the stomach
For the first time, the disease in question in the proposed article was described in the middle of the 18th century. For obvious reasons, the main factors that could cause erosion of the mucosa of the digestive tract in those days have changed, but many of them are still relevant. Such diseases most often develop as a result of a disruption in the balance of aggressive and protective factors of the internal environment of the digestive organs. Quite another question - what caused such violations. Among the main factors provoking the development of erosion, experts name the following:
- injury to the stomach by getting foreign objects into it or subsequently bruises and wounds;
- surgicalinterventions on the digestive organs (stomach and duodenum);
- often getting into stressful situations, a systematic surge of strong negative emotions;
- comorbidities of the gastrointestinal tract such as pancreatitis;
- liver and gallbladder diseases such as cirrhosis, liver failure, gallstone disease;
- cardiovascular disease;
- heavy metal s alts, acids or alkalis enter the stomach.
There are also a number of factors in which gastric erosion, a symptom whose causes are often not linked together by the patient himself, causes bad habits or food cravings, such as:
- constantly eating too hot, spicy food;
- frequent drinking and cigarette smoking;
- use of drugs without following the recommended dosage and terms of treatment.
In recent years, thanks to the development of high medical technology, involvement in the occurrence of erosion of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract and Helicobacter pylori bacteria has been identified.
Types of gastric erosion
There are several types of a disease such as gastric erosion, the symptoms and treatment of which are somewhat different from each other:
- Primary erosion that occurs as an independent disease due to stress, alcohol abuse and drugs from the group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,corticosteroids and more.
- Secondary erosion, which is considered a complication of diseases such as kidney or liver failure, blood diseases, tumors in the intestines.
- Malignant erosion, which is formed against the background of ongoing diseases classified as oncological, including lymphoma, Crohn's disease and others.
Erosions can be single or multiple. As the names suggest, this can be determined by the number of mucosal lesions in the organ. In addition to the types of erosion, experts have identified several more positions by which the forms and types of this disease are distinguished.
Disease forms
Like any other disease, erosion of the stomach, the symptoms, the treatment of which may depend on the form of leakage, is divided into:
- Acute, the place of localization of which is most often observed in that part of the body, which is commonly called the "bottom". The main external signs of the acute form are the absence of layering of the epithelium on the body of erosion, a weak degree of infiltration by lymphocytic cells and the almost complete absence of fibrin deposits at its base. Symptoms of acute erosion of the stomach are always very bright and painful, their intensity and strength are much higher than those observed in peptic ulcer. Treatment of acute forms of the disease in most cases lasts no more than 2 weeks.
- Chronic, which is most often localized in the antrum of the stomach and consists mainly of the so-called granulation tissue. The edgeserosions in this form are surrounded by layers of hyperplastic epithelium, and dilated capillaries and degeneration of the ventricular glands are observed at the bottom. Chronic erosion of the antrum, the symptoms of which are somewhat milder than those of the acute form, requires longer treatment for 2-6 months or longer. The duration of therapy may depend on the degree of damage to the gastric mucosa and the body's susceptibility to drugs.
Types of erosion
Erosion of the stomach (symptoms, photos are presented in this article) is of several types:
- Hemorrhagic deep or superficial, which is characterized by the presence of blood plaque on the surface and is surrounded by a pale edematous membrane.
- Superficial flat, which is distinguished by a hyperemic rim around the body and a clean bottom, sometimes with a whitish coating on it.
- Complete or hyperplastic inflammatory, the main symptom of which is considered to be a polypoid form of the body of erosion, located at the highest point of the stomach fold with a slight edema.
Symptoms
If a person has erosion of the stomach, the symptoms of the disease usually immediately indicate this, since, according to the observations of specialists, erosion of the mucosa of the digestive tract is always more painful than ulceration. The symptomatic picture includes the following phenomena:
- pain in the epigastric region, which, depending on the form of the disease, is localized in the hypochondrium or the center of the abdomen;
- burp;
- nausea and vomiting;
- hunger pains.
Signs of bleeding from gastric erosion
Bleeding (hemorrhagic) erosion of the stomach, the symptoms of which are not always obvious, can be expressed by the following signs:
- weakness and fatigue;
- decrease in hemoglobin level;
- duodenogastric reflux or violation of the process of removing bile from the body;
- the presence of blood in the stool, which is often expressed by a change in their color to black.
All of the above signs and symptoms that indicate problems with the gastrointestinal tract should be a signal to immediately contact the nearest clinic, where the patient will be asked to undergo a detailed examination using the most modern diagnostic methods.
Basic methods for diagnosing gastric erosion
Diagnostic procedures for suspected gastric erosion include mandatory endoscopic examination, designed to reveal information about the location of foci of affected tissues, their number and appearance. During this procedure, parts of the gastric mucosa can be taken to determine the causes of the onset of the disease, as well as in order to exclude cancer.
In addition, to collect complete information that will help determine the choice of the most effective method of therapy, biochemical studies of the patient's blood, urine and feces may be required.
Conservative treatment of erosions:medicines, surgery
The main goal of the treatment of gastric erosion is its healing, elimination of pain and prevention of bleeding. Secondary erosion also implies the treatment of the underlying disease, which resulted in complications with the stomach. Gastroenterologists offer patients a list of drugs from the following groups:
- Gastroprotectors, which include Cytotech, Simaldrat and Gelusil.
- Cholinolytic drugs - the drug "Scopolamine" or "Atropine".
- Histamine blockers - medicines Gastrozol, Omeprazole, Cimetidine, Ranitidine, Omez and Metronidazole.
- Antacids - calcium carbonate, preparations "Almagel", "Maalox" and others.
- Preparations with enveloping action - aluminum hydroxide, bismuth or white clay.
If there is bleeding hemorrhagic erosion of the stomach, the symptoms of which are quite pronounced, the treatment is primarily aimed at stopping the bleeding and includes washing the stomach with cold water and intravenous infusion of blood or its components. In addition, it is mandatory to inject aminocaproic acid, vikasol and fibrinogen, which allows you to increase blood clotting and prevent large losses.
To reduce the risk of developing polyp erosions at the site, laser or electrocoagulation is used, carried out under conditionshospital. In especially severe cases, with systematic bleeding, the patient can undergo endoscopic or abdominal surgery, during which the part of the stomach affected by erosion is removed.
Folk treatments for gastric erosion
Often, gastroenterologists advise in the treatment of a disease such as erosion of the stomach, the symptoms of which indicate the absence of internal bleeding, to resort to folk remedies. It is worth noting that here we are not talking about replacing drugs with various decoctions and infusions. In a disease known as gastric erosion (symptoms, folk remedies should be carefully discussed with a doctor), "grandmother's" methods are additional to relieve pain and reduce the recovery time of the mucous membranes of the digestive tract.
As an anti-inflammatory agent, herbal tea with chamomile, St. John's wort and yarrow is recommended. Decoctions of knotweed, sage and mint also have a good effect. It is better to drink such teas half an hour or an hour before meals. It is very good to use natural bee honey as a sweetener for herbal medicinal teas, adding it to a cup of broth 1-2 tsp. In addition, a positive effect on the gastric mucosa during erosion of purified propolis, which must be slowly absorbed in the mouth for an hour every morning, has been proven.
A prerequisite for therapy for gastric erosion is diet,which provides for the complete exclusion from the patient's menu of fatty and fried foods, hot spices, pickles and smoked meats, marinades and alcohol.
