Reflux gastritis is a pathology that provokes the development of the inflammatory process in the tissues of the gastric mucosa. Inflammation occurs due to the fact that contents from the duodenum are thrown into the stomach, the acidity of which is significantly different. A similar cast is commonly called reflux. In this case, the development of the inflammatory process in the mucous membrane is called gastritis.
Reflux gastritis can develop due to a variety of reasons and at the same time has very specific signs. For the treatment of the disease, you need not only to use medicines, but also follow a fairly strict diet. As a supplement, traditional medicine is used, which helps to restore directly the structure of the affected stomach. This article will describe the symptoms, diet, and treatment of reflux gastritis.
Physiology
Sphincter is a round muscle located on the border between the esophagus and stomach. Exactly the same muscle is located at the exit of this organ. It opens the passage further into the duodenum after pretreatment. If a person is healthy, then the work of these organs is fully synchronized. After closing the esophageal sphincter, the stomach begins to make wave-like movements, thus processing food and directing it towards the duodenum. After this, the lower sphincter opens, passes the processed food into the intestines and closes again.
The stomach does not just have a similar structure. In each of its departments, completely different acidity is observed, which is necessary for the full processing of food. From the esophagus, the acidity will be weaker, in the middle of the stomach, the pH is acidic to process food, and goes closer to the intestine into alkaline.
Gastritis of the reflux type begins to develop in cases where the lower muscle does not completely close or opens when there is no food in the stomach. Because of this, the intestinal contents, which were completely treated with alkali, begin to enter in different amounts in the antrum (final) section or even higher, which causes the development of the inflammatory process.
Causes of the disease
Reflux gastritis can occur for the following reasons:
- A person suffers from chronic duodenitis.
- The patient often took pain medication.
- During surgery in the intestine and stomach, damage to the course of muscle fibers or their integrity occurred.
- The failure of the sphincter muscles is observed.
Classification
Depending on the nature of the cast, gastritis caused by it is distinguished as arising due to duodenal reflux and biliary.
Duodenal reflux gastritis is an inflammatory process that began to develop due to retrograde reflux of contents into the stomach from the duodenum. Pathology can develop due to the presence of inflammation in the intestine, if it has high pressure, while between the intestine and the stomach there are very weak muscles.
In the case of biliary (biliary) reflux gastritis, pathology involves the throwing of bile into the stomach. Normally, it should enter the duodenum from the subhepatic ducts and be excreted. But bile from the intestine enters the stomach. The main reasons are insufficient contractions of the pyloric muscles, stagnation of a chronic nature is observed in the duodenum, coordination of muscle contractions in the stomach and intestines is disturbed.
How is the disease manifested?
Reflux gastritis may develop initially without any signs or symptoms may be mild. Because of this, a person for a long time may not even be aware of the development of pathology. Due to similar symptoms, many people confuse reflux gastritis with reflux esophagitis (reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus).
At the same time, the acidity in the stomach is constantly changing, which becomes the reason for the rapid degeneration of cells into cells that, in their functionality and characteristics, can resemble intestinal cells. This phenomenon is very dangerous, because there is too high a risk of the transformation of these cells into cancerous.
Definition of a disease by symptoms
The following symptoms of reflux gastritis may indicate the presence of pathology:
- In the pit of stomach there is a dull, aching pain.
- A man is rapidly losing his appetite.
- Even if the patient did not eat anything, he has a feeling that the stomach is too full and heaviness is felt in him.
- A very unpleasant aftertaste may appear in the mouth.
- In the presence of biliary reflux gastritis there will be a bitter belching.
- In the corners of the oral cavity small ulcers, seizures begin to form gradually.
- A person suffers from constipation, then diarrhea.
- Weight begins to decline rapidly.
Diagnosis of the disease
In order to surely make a diagnosis such as reflux gastritis, it is necessary to undergo a thorough examination. For this, the following diagnostic methods are used:
- FGDS.
- Ultrasound of the hepatobiliary region, which includes the liver, gall bladder, subhepatic bile ducts, pancreas.
- Throughout the day, the pH of the stomach is monitored.
- A biopsy of the stomach, which is performed directly during a study such as fibrogastroduodenoscopy.
Pathology treatment
Be sure to conduct timely treatment so that you can restore the normal sequence of contraction of the sphincters and neutralize bile acids and alkaline components of refluxate. To date, it is customary to use for the treatment of reflux gastritis:
- Special agents that create a film on the surface of the entire stomach for protection, and can also significantly reduce the level of acidity, are antacids ("Rennie", "Almagel").
- Drugs based on ursodeoxycholic acid, which are aimed at neutralizing directly bile acids. They very quickly turn them into a water-soluble form (Ursosan, Ursofalk).
- Medicines that normalize the motility of the stomach and intestines (Motilium, Trimedat).
- If the acidity of the stomach is too high, then additionally it is necessary to use drugs aimed at inhibiting the synthesis of hydrochloric acid ("Ranitidine", "Famotidine").
Proper nutrition
The diet for reflux gastritis is that a sick person needs to remove all harmful foods from his diet, especially fast food, as well as smoked, spicy and fried foods.
This is important: if you do not follow all the rules of this rather strict diet, then there will be absolutely no result from taking even the largest number of medicines.
The basic rules of the diet for the treatment of reflux gastritis:
- From the diet, you need to completely exclude foods that cause irritation of the mucous membrane of the stomach and intestines.
- You can not eat spicy food, coffee, alcoholic beverages, fried and smoked dishes, carbonated drinks, as well as chocolate in all its manifestations.
- All foods should be warm during consumption.
- Food must be fractional - you need to eat often, but as small as possible.
- The main dishes in the diet should be grated or mucous soups, boiled eggs, low-fat fish and meat, low-fat, mild sauces, a variety of cereals and jelly, low-fat cottage cheese, vegetables and fruit in a stew.
- Do not drink fluids with food.
Treatment of reflux gastritis with a diet should be supplemented by the abandonment of some habits. For example, you should not bend, especially after eating, the upper half of the body. You can’t lift weights, sleep on a very high pillow or take a horizontal position immediately after eating. This will accelerate the treatment of reflux gastritis, and the symptoms will be less pronounced.
Treatment of pathology with folk remedies
For the treatment of reflux gastritis with folk remedies, only those recipes are used that have already been repeatedly tested over several decades. The most effective remedies include the following:
- Dandelion syrup. To prepare the medicine, you need to put dandelion flowers and a half kilogram of sugar in a three-liter jar. You need to spread it in layers, then crush it until juice appears. After this, a tablespoon of the resulting syrup is diluted in 100 ml of warm water. The medicine is taken three times a day. Exactly the same effective syrup can be made from chamomile. Chamomile syrup is taken according to the same principle.
- A decoction of potatoes. It is necessary to thoroughly wash several potato tubers, then cut them into pieces together with the peel and boil for an hour. From time to time you can add a small amount of water. The resulting broth is taken up to 6 times a day in an amount of 100 ml.
- Potato juice. Take raw potatoes and grate it. Wrap the resulting chips in gauze and squeeze the juice out of it. You need to drink such juice quite often. The maximum number of doses per day is 6 times 100 ml.
- Juice from celery root. Squeeze the juice from celery root according to the same principle as potato. The drug is taken one tablespoon twice a day, immediately before meals.
- Mix one tablespoon of yarrow, mint, St. John's wort and pour three glasses of boiling water. Leave to infuse the product in a thermos for a day. Then the infusion should be carefully filtered and drunk in several small sips every two hours.
If you have suspicion of the development of reflux gastritis, then it is imperative to consult with a gastroenterologist. After that, carry out all the necessary studies of an instrumental nature. Remember that only a doctor can choose the most effective treatment for reflux gastritis, which will combine the right medications, diet and herbal medicine.
Possible complications
In most cases, reflux gastritis is relatively easy to cure. But if you start therapy too late, the patient may develop complications. Among them:
- atrophic gastritis;
- acute form of reflux gastritis will turn into chronic;
- stomach ulcer;
- the development of the oncological process in the gastrointestinal tract.
If you monitor your health, then all these complications can be easily avoided.
Pathology Prevention
In order not to suffer from such an unpleasant disease as reflux gastritis in the future, it is enough to follow simple tips:
- Make your diet as healthy as possible.
- All diseases of the gastrointestinal tract should be treated on time, and therapy should be selected correctly.
- Do not drink too much alcohol.
Also, do not forget that it is regularly necessary to undergo examinations by specialists, so that in the absence of clearly expressed symptoms of reflux gastritis, the pathology can be detected as soon as possible. Simple rules will help you have a healthy stomach and intestines. However, if you notice certain manifestations of a disturbance in the functioning of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract, it is strongly recommended that you seek the help of a doctor. People in their reviews of reflux gastritis argue that it was timely treatment that allowed them to effectively and seamlessly get rid of this pathology.