Do you know the 'symptoms to watch out for' when 'acute gastritis' occurs?

 

Acute gastritis causes rapid inflammation of the gastric mucosa, causing gastrointestinal symptoms such as prickling pain around the stomach area, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Acute gastritis is naturally relieved by stabilizing the stomach, but in some cases, Ringer, antacids, and gastric mucosal protective agents are required. This time, we will explain the symptoms of acute gastritis, examination and diagnosis, and treatment.

What is acute gastritis?

Gastritis is a condition in which the gastric mucosa is inflamed, and there are acute gastric mucosal lesions and chronic gastritis. In addition, acute gastric mucosal lesions refer to those with a clear cause and short-term recovery by elimination of the cause.

Also, acute gastritis is officially called acute gastroduodenal mucosal lesion. It develops due to abdominal pain, hematemesis, or bleeding, and abnormal findings such as acute inflammation in the gastric and duodenal mucosa are recognized in gastroscopy, resulting in redness, horse mackerel, edema, and bleeding.

Acute gastritis often recovers within a few days due to minor injuries, but in some cases, treatment with oral medications or Ringer's or fasting is required. In addition, since symptoms are similar to gastric ulcer or gastric cancer, it is important to check the condition through gastroscopy if there is no improvement in the symptoms and not gastritis by self-judgment.

What are the symptoms of acute gastritis?

Acute gastritis develops suddenly, because the onset progresses rapidly. Specifically, gastrointestinal symptoms such as tingling pain around the groin area, nausea, belching, fever, vomiting, loss of appetite, bloating, and diarrhea. In some cases, malnutrition may occur due to anorexia.

In addition, if the gastric mucosa has a strong disorder, bleeding from the gastric mucosa increases, causing hematemesis or hematemesis. In some cases, major bleeding is present, so an endoscopy is urgently needed to treat hemostasis.

In most cases, symptoms of acute gastritis go away within a few days with rest. If the symptoms are strong, the symptoms persist for a long time, or repeat several times, there is a possibility of another disease, so do not judge yourself and seek medical attention.

Are there any symptoms to watch out for?

In most cases, symptoms of acute gastritis are recovered within a few days by stabilizing the stomach with fasting and diet. When these symptoms appear, there is a possibility that major bleeding has occurred, so a gastroscopy should be performed as soon as possible.

Causes of acute gastritis

What causes acute gastritis?

The causes of acute gastritis include pylori infection, parasites such as anisakis, painkillers such as aspirin or ibuprofen, excessive alcohol consumption, binge drinking, drinking, eating supernova foods, chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis, kidney failure, cerebrovascular disorders, and other stress. In addition to everyday stress, stress caused by external factors such as burns, surgery, and infectious diseases can also be the cause. Among them, drugs, alcohol, and stress are the three major causes of acute gastritis.

How does drug acute gastritis occur?

About half of the causes of acute gastritis are medicinal. Since there are antipyretic analgesics, steroids, and antibiotics, not only oral medications, but also suppositories or poultices weaken the protective action of the gastric mucosa, causing acute gastritis.

What causes alcoholic acute gastritis?

About 10% of the causes of acute gastritis are alcoholic. Acute gastritis occurs due to excessive gastric acid secretion due to excessive consumption of alcohol or coffee.

stress is the cause

What causes acute stress gastritis?

About 10% of acute gastritis causes are stressful. Most of the time it is mental stress, but there are cases where it is caused by physical factors such as cerebrovascular disease, laceration, trauma, or after surgery.

The function of the stomach is regulated by the autonomic nervous system, and as the stimulus from stress is transmitted from the hypothalamus of the brain to the sympathetic nerve, the gastric blood vessels constrict and blood flow decreases, resulting in decreased secretion of mucus that protects the gastric mucosa.

In addition, the stimulation by stress promotes gastric movement via the parasympathetic nerve, so gastric acid secretion is excessive. As a result, gastric acid damages the gastric mucosa, resulting in acute gastritis.

Inspection and diagnosis of acute gastritis

When acute gastritis is suspected, it is necessary to differentiate it from other diseases that cause abdominal pain, such as acute pancreatitis, appendicitis, gastric ulcer, cholelithiasis, and acute cholecystitis. For differentiation, information such as the situation at the time of onset and the spread of pain, as well as blood tests and ultrasound tests are performed.

In addition, by upper digestive tract endoscopy (gastric camera), we investigate the presence or absence of spleen and bleeding, ulcer or not, the situation of gastric mucosa in detail. In addition, tests for pylori bacteria may be added.

Among them, endoscopy is the most important test, and if bleeding is recognized in the gastric mucosa, hemostasis is treated. Acute gastric mucosal lesions such as ulcers and spleen need to be differentiated from gastric cancer or lymphoma, so a definitive diagnosis is made through gastroscopy.

Treatment of acute gastritis

Acute gastritis maintains the stability of the stomach, and in most cases the symptoms disappear naturally, but Ringer, antacids, and gastric mucosal protective agents are used depending on the severity of the symptoms. In addition, if there is bleeding from the lesion, hemostasis treatment by an endoscope is performed.

The important thing in the treatment of acute gastritis is to first eliminate the cause. Stop drinking alcohol, heavy food, smoking, and taking pain relievers. Also, if stress in social life is the cause, take regular breaks, exercise, and ensure sufficient sleep.

In addition, if bacterial involvement is suspected during fatigue, antibacterial therapy is performed. Although acute gastritis is a curable disease, it may be necessary to differentiate it from other diseases, and it is important to seek medical attention early when the pain persists.

treat with medication

Based on blood and endoscopy results, the choice of oral medication and duration of oral administration are determined. For oral treatment, a component ratio inhibitor that suppresses aggression factors such as gastric acid, an antacid that neutralizes gastric acid, and a mucosal protective agent that strengthens gastric mucosal defense factors are used in combination. If there is abdominal pain or bleeding, fast and treat with Ringer. In acute gastritis caused by medications taken internally as a treatment for a disease, it is important not to stop taking the medication without permission and to consult a doctor.

take it easy

If the stomach is stable, fasting, porridge, soup, etc. are implemented according to subjective symptoms and endoscopy results. Avoid foods that are difficult to digest (bulgogi, fried foods, foods high in fiber, etc.), salty foods, spicy foods, etc., which irritate the stomach, and avoid drinking, smoking, and black coffee while taking the medicine.

organize

Acute gastritis recovers well with removal of the cause and appropriate treatment. Most of the causes are drugs, and in particular, antipyretic analgesics account for about 60% of them. Acute gastritis often develops for 1 to 2 weeks after taking antipyretic analgesics, and the onset is particularly noticeable in the elderly or smokers.

Caution is also required when taking pain relievers for back pain or headache. Knowing about stomach-damaging drugs such as antipyretic analgesics and knowing that raw fish may contain parasites also leads to prevention.

In acute gastritis, avoiding the cause leads to prevention. It is important to lead a regular life, avoid stress or overwork, and avoid foods and drinks with strong stimulants.