Acute gastritis is a serious disease that affects the stomach in the first place. If there is a suspicion of an inflammatory process in the stomach, then immediately the help of a specialist doctor, in this case a gastroenterologist, will be required. In order to be able to recognize the disease, you should definitely carefully study all the symptoms of acute gastritis of the stomach.
How is gastritis manifested?
It should be noted that in almost all cases of the onset of this disease, the patient himself is to blame, since he had previously not been very good about his health. If you constantly eat or eat monotonous and unhealthy food, then most likely a person will become a patient of a gastroenterologist. The second factor that can affect the manifestation of the disease is infection.
Consider in more detail the main symptoms of acute gastritis:
- The abuse of alcohol in large quantities is the first companion of gastritis.
- It also affects people who like to eat spicy, fatty or smoked. Gastritis can manifest itself very sharply, especially if a person has been on a diet for a long time, and then abruptly broke. Gastroenterologists say that most often people notice exacerbation of gastritis after the holidays, as all the food these days become too high in calories.
- Gastritis can also provoke exposure to harmful substances on the body, for example, it can be detergents. This situation often occurs with young children, whose body is more vulnerable.
- This disease also affects people who work in hazardous industries.
- There is a separate type of infection that penetrates the human body and causes a chronic form of the disease.
- Other diseases, such as HIV infection, can sometimes be the cause of the disease.
There are other reasons why gastritis can develop, but there are not so many.
Types of gastritis
If a person has acute gastritis, the symptoms can be very diverse, depending on this, several types of the disease are distinguished:
- Catarrhal gastritis. This type of gastritis is considered the most common, the reasons why it occurs are the most diverse. First of all, these are eating disorders and alcohol abuse. Such gastritis can also be called superficial, since it rarely damages the deep layers of the gastric mucosa.
- Fibrinous gastritis occurs solely as a result of a severe illness caused by an infection. It can appear even after a person inhales harmful substances, and they enter the stomach. This type of gastritis is dangerous because a large number of ulcers can appear as a result.
- Corrosive gastritis. This type of gastritis occurs due to the penetration of harmful substances into the body. These may be, for example, acids or salts.
- Phlegmonous gastritis is dangerous because the integrity of the gastric mucosa is violated. This occurs due to trauma or a tumor that has gone into a decay stage.
In any case, if a disease is suspected, the symptoms of acute gastritis in adults or in a child will be obvious, therefore it is necessary to consult a qualified specialist for diagnosis and treatment.
Gastritis
In fact, there are many reasons for the occurrence of gastritis, but the main one is malnutrition. It should be borne in mind that almost 70% of cases of gastritis occur in people who like to eat spicy or too salty foods. Consider additional annoying factors that can cause the disease:
- The use of medications, for example, if you constantly drink acetylsalicylic acid, the walls of the stomach can be damaged.
- The risk group includes people who smoke a lot.
- Pathologies can occur in people who drink.
- Despite the fact that acute gastritis is in no way associated with an infectious disease, other infectious diseases, such as salmonella, yersinia, and E. coli, can still cause it.
- Gastritis can cause frequent diagnostics involving probes and endoscopy.
- The cause is mechanical damage to the stomach during bumps or bruises.
Oddly enough, even an allergy to certain foods can cause gastritis. To establish what actually triggered the disease, only a doctor can.
Symptoms
When a person has acute gastritis, the symptoms can be very diverse. As a rule, the very first unpleasant sensations can occur literally in a day:
- There is an unpleasant aftertaste in the mouth.
- Appetite is lost.
- There is heaviness in the stomach.
- There may be burping air.
- Vomiting opens.
- Vomit is plentiful and has an unpleasant odor.
If acute gastritis began to appear after poisoning, then there may be diarrhea, bloating or rumbling in it. When the temperature rises, then hospitalization can not do without. It should be noted that acute gastritis, the symptoms of which develop very quickly, is dangerous for any person, especially if it is a child. Recently, doctors are faced with the fact that this disease can be fatal, therefore, without urgent surgical intervention, a person may simply lose his life. Especially serious should be taken if gastritis occurs in a pregnant woman or a small child - in this case, the development of the disease is unpredictable.
What can confuse acute gastritis?
At the first signs of acute gastritis of the stomach, the symptoms of which can easily be confused with other diseases, it is recommended to conduct an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible. For example, if a person is sick with hypertension or has angina, then the symptoms will coincide with gastritis and only an ECG will allow the disease to be excluded. As for vomiting, other inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, such as pancreatitis or even appendicitis, can also cause it. A huge number of other diseases with the same symptoms cannot be ruled out.
Gastritis during pregnancy
Pregnant women often experience acute gastritis, the symptoms of which can be caused by toxicosis. Young mothers should not worry that this will somehow affect the condition of the child, but they will have to deal with the inflammatory process in the body. Many doctors recommend expectant mothers to immediately prepare for the need for ongoing prevention as a preventive measure for this unpleasant disease, and for this several simple conditions should be met:
- Eat properly.
- Enough to relax and not overwork.
- Spend more time outdoors.
- Exercise regularly.
- Control your emotional state.
- To refuse from bad habits.
- At the first symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor.
In no case should you self-medicate and use only folk remedies, only doctors should treat the disease.
Gastritis in children
Oddly enough, but acute gastritis occurs in children. Symptoms can occur from early childhood, so parents should be as careful as possible about their baby’s health. Often seizures begin to be detected at the age of five. If the child has frequent diarrhea or vomiting opens, the body quickly dehydrates, thereby increasing the risk of kidney failure.
Almost half of the children begin to suffer from gastritis when they attend school. There can be many reasons for this, for example, a child eats more dry foods, including crackers and chips, may not follow his hygiene, bite his nails or lick his fingers, increasing the risk of various infections causing gastritis. In this case, you should immediately consult a doctor if there is even the slightest suspicion that the baby has acute gastritis.
The treatment in children and the symptoms are slightly different from the signs and treatment of this disease in an adult. For each child, the scheme is selected individually. In some cases, gastric lavage, mandatory bed rest, and diet may be required.
Sorbents are used, such as Smecta, Enterosgel, enzyme preparations Mezim, Festal, gastrocytoprotectors Maalox, Venter. If a child is tormented by pain, then antispasmodics are prescribed,
Examination of the patient
As a rule, a gastroenterologist is involved in the treatment. First of all, he will conduct a survey of the patient and try to learn as much as possible about the symptoms that arise, about the lifestyle and, of course, about the drugs that the patient takes. Only after this, the following tests can be prescribed to the patient:
- Blood analysis.
- Blood for sugar.
- Analysis of urine.
- Fecal analysis.
- Pregnancy test (for women).
- If there is a likelihood of poisoning by poisons, then vomit may be given up for analysis.
Sometimes, in order to establish the exact cause of the disease, consultation with other specialists may be required.
Diagnostics
After the doctor collects a complete medical history, additional diagnostic methods should be performed. The doctor should carefully study the symptoms. The treatment of acute gastritis depends on the type of ailment, so diagnosis is indispensable. In addition to the fact that the patient is assigned different laboratory tests, the doctor can choose the following diagnostic methods:
- X-ray
- Ultrasound of the abdomen.
- Endoscopy
It is worth remembering that during a severe attack of gastritis , sounding is not recommended, otherwise bleeding can be caused.
Treatment
When an acute attack of gastritis occurs, it is not difficult to recognize the symptoms, in which case the doctor may prescribe medications that are aimed at eliminating the pain, and then further treatment will follow. As a rule, anticholinergics and antispasmodics are used.
There is a need to cleanse the patient’s stomach, and on the second day they may be offered a plentiful drink to cleanse the intestines. A diet is gradually introduced with the use of liquid soups, cereals and jelly.
Enterosorbents are prescribed - they relieve inflammation and absorb toxins. The doctor prescribes antibiotics in the presence of toxic poisoning, and prokinetics with frequent vomiting. Mandatory vitamin complexes.
If the patient does everything right, then after two weeks there is noticeable relief.
Some forms of gastritis are treated for a very long time, sometimes it happens that a person will need to take drugs for six months. So that the disease does not recur, exacerbation does not occur, it should be constantly checked by a doctor, preferably twice a year.
When surgical treatment is required
Most often, acute gastritis occurs in adults. Symptoms and treatment in this case can be very diverse, often even surgical intervention is required:
- Act quickly if there are preconditions for perforation of the stomach.
- When bleeding opens.
- If a penetrating ulcer has been detected.
- When a person is diagnosed with necrotic gastritis.
How complicated the operation will be depends on the degree of damage to the stomach itself. If the patient does everything right and listens to the doctor’s recommendations, this disease can be cured completely without ever returning to it. A mild form is treated at home with the help of special diets, but with complex types of this disease, qualified medical help is required.
Prevention
You should not take your health lightly and consider that there is nothing wrong with a disease such as acute gastritis. Symptoms and treatment, which can last indefinitely, are best prevented, and for this it is enough to follow elementary rules:
- Attentive to the shelf life of food.
- Prepare exceptionally healthy food without overuse of pepper, salt and other seasonings.
- In time to treat infectious diseases.
- Follow oral hygiene and visit your dentist regularly.
- Before use, wash vegetables and fruits.
If a person has to constantly use medications, then you need to monitor the reaction of the stomach and, with alarming symptoms, report them to your doctor. It is also advisable to abandon bad habits, not to smoke and not to abuse alcohol.