Diseases in the gastrointestinal tract are quite common. One of the most common diagnoses is gastritis. At the same time, it can occur not only in adults, but also in children.
Let's talk about its most dangerous form - hemorrhagic gastritis. We also consider the symptoms and get acquainted with some methods of treatment and prevention of the disease.
What is hemorrhagic gastritis
Hemorrhagic (erosive) gastritis is a disease that is characterized by inflammation of the walls of the stomach and the appearance of erosion on them. This process is usually accompanied by bleeding.
To have at least a little understanding of what hemorrhagic gastritis is, the photo below will be a good example. It shows the inside of the stomach with bruising.
Causes of the disease
Why does a disease such as hemorrhagic gastritis occur? The reasons may be the following:
- Ingestion of alkalis and acids in the stomach. Most often, this occurs with improper or excessive use of drugs, analgesics, glucocorticoids, anti-inflammatory drugs.
- Ingestion, and stomach in particular, heavy metal salts.
- Frequent use of poor-quality or harmful products (spices, spicy, smoked food, etc.).
- Drinking alcohol.
- Viral diseases.
- Ingestion of Helicobacter pylori infection.
The presence of predisposing factors, which include the presence of Crohn's disease, mechanical injury to the stomach and stress, can also play a significant role.
Hemorrhagic gastritis differs from simple gastritis in that it arises as a result of the influence of external factors and is in no way associated with the secretory activity of the stomach.
Symptoms of the disease
How does hemorrhagic gastritis usually manifest itself ? Symptoms may include the following:
- decreased appetite;
- nausea, which may be accompanied by vomiting;
- the appearance of belching;
- discoloration of feces (it turns black);
- appearance in the language of plaque;
- Dizziness
- pain in the abdomen;
- lowering blood pressure;
- pallor of the skin.
All the above phenomena, as well as their part, can be observed. The main symptoms that are present in each patient are darkening of feces, the appearance of pain and dyspeptic disorders. If hemorrhage has occurred in the stomach (which happens very often), vomiting of brown or red color appears. This condition can cause anemia and a decrease in blood volume in the body. As a result, severe weakness and fainting are possible.
Diagnosis of the disease
Diagnosis of hemorrhagic gastritis is carried out at a reception with a gastroenterologist. The whole process consists of several mandatory parts:
- Interviewing the patient for complaints. At this time, the presence of possible concomitant symptoms of the disease, which was discussed in the previous section, is revealed.
- Visual inspection. Here is an assessment of the skin and the identification of their pallor. In addition, there may be problems with the nails: during the disease, they become dull and very brittle.
- Palpation of the abdomen. Usually with hemorrhagic gastritis, it will be painful.
- Laboratory research. This includes passing all the necessary tests and comparing their results with the norm.
- Instrumental research. It is this stage that will make it possible to confirm the final diagnosis. With the help of esophagogastroduodenoscopy (endoscopy), a visual assessment of the gastric mucosa is carried out, the location of erosion and hemorrhage is revealed. In addition, an additional targeted biopsy is additionally performed to more accurately determine the main signs of inflammation and exclude the possible oncological nature of the changes.
After that, the doctor is able to establish the correct diagnosis: gastritis (hemorrhagic) or any other disease of the stomach. Based on it, the necessary therapy is prescribed.
Drug treatment
Gastritis (hemorrhagic) requires complex treatment. It can be performed both on an outpatient basis and in a hospital. In this case, patients with gastrointestinal bleeding should be hospitalized and be under the constant supervision of doctors.
The appointment of medications is carried out individually in each case. In this case, the nature of the course of the disease and its severity are taken into account.
So, with a diagnosis of hemorrhagic gastritis, treatment is carried out with the following pharmacological agents.
With increased acidity of the stomach, the patient is prescribed antacids, which include Ranitidine, Cimetidine, Gastrocepin, Pantoprazole, Maalox, Gaviscon, Fosfalugel and others.
To quickly heal and protect the stomach from irritation, it is necessary to take astringents and enveloping drugs, such as Sucralfate or Denol, as well as mucus forming agents: Flocarbin, Liquiriton.
If gastritis (hemorrhagic) was caused by bacteria, then antibiotics are added to the main drugs.
With bleeding, homostatic therapy is performed. It provides droppers with adrenaline and aminocaproic acid, as well as intramuscular and intravenous injections of "Vikasol", "Ethamsylate" or "Dicinon".
If drug treatment does not bring results and there is a deterioration in the patient's condition, a decision is made to conduct a surgery. But this is done exclusively in extreme cases, since there is a high probability of bleeding and death.
Diet for hemorrhagic gastritis
One of the most important factors for successfully getting rid of a disease is nutrition optimization.
What can and cannot be eaten with a diagnosis of hemorrhagic gastritis? A diet developed by specialists includes the following:
- It is strictly forbidden to use in food: carbonated drinks, chocolate, spices, spices, canned foods, fatty, spicy and smoked foods, fresh vegetables, cabbage, legumes, grapes, coffee, fresh pastries, sour cream, milk, alcohol.
- The main food should consist of liquid and semi-liquid dishes: soup, porridge, mashed potatoes, jelly, compote. At the same time, they should be steamed or on water.
It is also necessary to observe not only diet, but also diet. It provides meals in small portions up to 6 times a day.
Hemorrhagic gastritis: treatment with folk remedies
In addition to diet and basic drug treatment, alternative methods of treatment can be additionally used. They consist in the use of vegetable oils (dogrose, carotene and sea buckthorn), as well as infusions of herbs (plantain, yarrow, chamomile, flax seeds, St. John's wort).
All this will help to provide additional reparative and anti-inflammatory effect.
Disease prevention
As you can see, a disease such as gastritis (hemorrhagic and its other types) is quite dangerous not only for health but also for human life. Therefore, it is worth doing everything possible to protect yourself from its appearance.
Prevention of hemorrhagic gastritis is a review of their lifestyle. It should include regular and proper nutrition, an established daily routine and timely monitoring by doctors. In addition, it is important to give up alcohol and smoking, which causes great harm not only to the lungs, but also to the gastrointestinal tract.
If you suspect a disease, you should immediately consult a gastroenterologist. This will help to begin treatment already in the initial stages and to avoid the appearance of possible complications.
It is important to remember the following information as well. Hemorrhagic gastritis is a disease compatible with life, as there are many ways to treat it. But it takes a lot of time, and even in the case of surgical intervention, relapses may occur. Therefore, it is better to protect yourself from a possible problem by all means than to deal with its consequences later.
Be healthy!