Many diseases are known to modern medicine. And they all relate to the most diverse systems and organs of the human body. In this article I want to talk about what are the main and most common diseases of the stomach. Symptoms and treatment - this will be discussed later.
About the stomach
At the very beginning, you need to understand the concepts that will be used in the article. So, the stomach (gastrointestinal diseases - this will be discussed a little further) is the most important organ of the human digestive system. It is located between the esophagus and the duodenum. The main work of the stomach is the digestion of food (due to gastric juice), which gets there. Moreover, due to the fibers of the lining of the stomach, partial absorption of beneficial substances occurs.
The main signs of gastric diseases
You also need to first consider the most diverse signs of stomach disease. Indeed, thanks to these symptoms, you can independently determine that something is wrong with this organ.
- Impaired appetite. Very often, patients lose their appetite, which often leads to the emergence of a disease such as anorexia. If a person began to eat much less, this may indicate problems such as gastritis or tumors. An increased appetite is often discussed if a person has a stomach ulcer or problems with the duodenum 12. If the patient refuses meat, this may indicate the presence of neoplasms in the body.
- Burping. If it occurs after eating and infrequently - this is normal. A person should be guarded by sour or rotten belching, as well as frequent belching with air.
- Heartburn. It can appear both after eating certain foods, and as a result of illnesses. This symptom can "talk" about diseases of the duodenum 12, as well as stomach ulcers. Also, heartburn often occurs due to impaired gastric motility.
- Nausea. This symptom may be a sign of gastritis or tumors in the stomach.
- Pain There is an early pain that occurs about 20 minutes after a meal. Late pain occurs about a few hours after eating. There are also periodic pains. They occur at the time of exacerbation of chronic diseases of the stomach (for example, with an ulcer, exacerbations occur in spring and autumn).
- Blood. Tar-like stools, gastric bleeding - these are symptoms that indicate serious illnesses. This can be erosive gastritis, an ulcer or cancer of the stomach, polyps in the stomach, and other diseases.
- Vomiting This is the most important symptom that may indicate an inflammatory process in the stomach. The contents of the vomit are also important.
Gastric cancer can induce vomiting approximately a few hours after eating.
If the patient has a stomach ulcer, vomiting can begin about 15 minutes after eating.
Causes
If we talk about such a problem as stomach diseases, the reasons are the things to stop at. After all, knowing the causes of problems with this organ, you can avoid the development of many gastrointestinal diseases.
- Overeating or fasting. You need to eat about 4-5 times a day in small portions. At the same time, food should be balanced and nutritious. With prolonged interruptions in food intake, a person develops gastric juice, which digests not the food, but the walls of the organ itself. And this causes the occurrence of multiple inflammatory processes.
- Food temperature. Cold and hot foods (including drinks) can cause various stomach problems. So, food, the temperature of which is less than 7 ° C and more than 70 ° C, can lead to diseases. Too cold food leads to a decrease in the digestive power of gastric juice. Too hot food can cause atrophy of the mucous membrane of this organ.
- Inadequate nutrition. For example, inadequate protein intake can decrease gastric secretion. Also, the consumption of alcohol and nicotine adversely affects the work of this body.
Other reasons:
- The consumption of poor quality food.
- The consumption of indigestible food.
- Passion for junk food and convenience foods.
- Abuse of spicy foods.
- Inadequate digestion.
- Dry food.
Stomach cancer
What problems can affect the stomach? Diseases are often referred by doctors to the field of oncology. In this case, it is customary to talk about gastric cancer, which makes up about 40% of all cancer diseases. Science is not yet known about the causes of the ailment. However, doctors say that about 15% more likely to suffer from cancer of the stomach men, as well as people of advanced age and lovers of alcohol. Another cause may be a hereditary factor. The main symptoms:
- First stage. The patient feels weakness, apathy, increased fatigue. Belching, heaviness in the stomach, and weight loss may also occur.
- Second stage. There are already pains, nausea and vomiting. There may be an admixture of blood in the vomit. Gastric bleeding is also characteristic of this stage. There can be a lot of weight loss, frequent fever.
- Third stage. The pains become intolerable, and an aversion to food may also appear.
Ulcer
Another fairly common problem is gastric ulcer. It has a chronic form. With this disease, ulcers form on the walls of the stomach in a person that do not heal and do not disappear anywhere. During the period of exacerbation and depending on the stage of the disease, they can hurt, bleed, cause discomfort. The main symptoms of gastric ulcer:
- Cutting pains in the stomach. Most often occur on an empty stomach and about 2-3 hours after eating.
- Vomiting
- Nausea.
- Constipation
- Heartburn.
How can a stomach ulcer be diagnosed? In this case, the doctor will prescribe the patient a mucosal x-ray or endoscopy. And so that seasonal exacerbations do not occur, the patient needs to eat properly (strictly follow the diet prescribed by the doctor).
Gastritis
What can be assumed if the stomach hurts? The diseases that this symptom can cause are acute and chronic gastritis. Symptoms that signal a problem:
- If it is acute gastritis, the patient will feel various pains (headaches, pains in the pit of the stomach).
- In chronic gastritis, the patient will suffer from nausea, vomiting, heartburn, belching, pain in the heart and heaviness in the abdomen.
Methods for diagnosing these diseases: fibrogastroscopy (in this case, a biopsy of the mucous sites will be important), sounding. Very important for such patients is the strictest diet.
Other diseases
If a person is disturbed by the stomach, diseases that may also affect this organ can be as follows:
- Gastroptosis or prolapse of the stomach. The main symptomatology: loss of appetite, periodic nausea, heaviness in the stomach.
- Hypersecretion of the stomach. Increase not only juice removal, but also its acidity. Most often, this disease does not have pronounced symptoms, but is diagnosed with an x-ray.
- Achilles of the stomach. This is inhibition of gastric secretion.
- Pneumatosis This is increased gas in the stomach. In this case, the following symptoms may be observed: frequent burping, pressure in the organ, heaviness in the stomach.
Treatment
So, we briefly examined all the main diseases of the stomach. Treatment is also where you need to stop. Here it is worth saying that the method of getting rid of the disease in each individual case will be different. It all depends on the diagnosis made by the doctor.
- Very important in the treatment of gastric diseases is nutrition. So, if a person has certain problems with this organ, he must eat all his life according to the rules strictly prescribed by the doctor.
- Taking painkillers. If a person is tormented by stomach pains, then you can take an anesthetic. It can be a drug like No-Shpa or Spazmalgon.
- The normalization of gastric microflora is also important (in this case, most often we are talking about the elimination of the Helicobacter pylori bacteria).
- It is very important to completely eliminate all factors that irritate the mucous membrane. These are smoking, alcohol, spicy seasonings and hot dishes.
- Taking medications prescribed by a doctor. Everything will depend on the diagnosis made by the doctor.
ethnoscience
We further consider the topic "stomach diseases: symptoms and treatment." If the patient is unable or unwilling to seek a doctor’s help in case of stomach problems, you can cope with various diseases with the help of traditional medicine.
Gastritis:
- Green apple. You need to peel it, grate it and eat it in unlimited quantities.
- Every morning on an empty stomach you need to eat a tablespoon of honey, washed down with a glass of warm water.
- The medicine of cabbage juice. On a juicer, squeeze the juice of the cabbage leaves and drink it half a glass twice a day one hour before eating.
If the patient has chronic diseases of the stomach, for example an ulcer, you can cope with them with the help of the following medicines:
- In equal parts, you need to take medicinal valerian, St. John's wort weed, the color of chamomile and immortelle, the root of the marshmallow and licorice naked. Everything is poured with boiling water, insisted. You need to take the medicine half a glass three times a day before meals.
- You need to take about 10 grams of the seeds of ordinary harmonica, pour a glass of water and boil over low heat. Then everything is infused for two hours and filtered. The medicine is taken at 20 grams before meals 3 times a day.