What is gastritis?

Gastritis is not a single disease, but several different conditions that all have inflammation of the stomach lining.
What causes gastritis?
Gastritis can be caused by drinking too much alcohol, prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen, or infection with bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Sometimes
gastritis develops after major surgery, traumatic injury, burns, or severe infections. Certain diseases, such as
pernicious anemia, autoimmune disorders, and chronic bile reflux, can cause gastritis as well.
What are the symptoms of gastritis?
The most common symptoms are abdominal upset or pain. Other symptoms are:

 belching,

 abdominal bloating,

 nausea, and vomiting

 or a feeling of fullness or of burning in the upper abdomen.

Blood in your vomit or black stools may be a sign of bleeding in the stomach, which may indicate a serious problem
requiring immediate medical attention.
How is gastritis diagnosed?
Gastritis is diagnosed through one or more medical tests:
 Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. The doctor eases an endoscope, a thin tube containing a tiny camera,
through your mouth (or occasionally nose) and down into your stomach to look at the stomach lining. The
doctor will check for inflammation and may remove a tiny sample of tissue for tests. This procedure to
remove a tissue sample is called a biopsy.
 Blood test. The doctor may check your red blood cell count to see whether you have anemia, which means
that you do not have enough red blood cells. Anemia can be caused by bleeding from the stomach.
 Stool test. This test checks for the presence of blood in your stool, a sign of bleeding. Stool test may also
be used to detect the presence of H. pylori in the digestive tract.
What is the treatment for gastritis?
Treatment usually involves taking drugs to reduce stomach acid and thereby help relieve symptoms and promote
healing. (Stomach acid irritates the inflamed tissue in the stomach.) Avoidance of certain foods, beverages, or
medicines may also be recommended.
If your gastritis is caused by an infection, that problem may be treated as well. For example, the doctor might
prescribe antibiotics to clear up H. pylori infection. Once the underlying problem disappears, the gastritis usually does
too. Talk to your doctor before stopping any medicine or starting any gastritis treatment on your own.
Featured: Gastritis Main Article
Gastritis is an inflammation of the stomach lining. Causes of gastritis include drinking too much alcohol, medications
such as NSAIDs, ibuprofen, aspirin, H. pylori infection, severe infections, burns, anemia, and autoimmune disorders.
Gastritis is diagnosed with endoscopy, blood tests, or stool tests. Treatment depends upon the cause of gastritis.

Medications
 ibuprofen, Advil, Children's Advil/Motrin, Medipren, Motrin, Nuprin, PediaCare Fever, etc.
  Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)

 acetylsalicylic acid, Aspirin, Ecotrin

Procedures & Tests

 Complete Blood Count (CBC)

 Upper Endoscopy (EGD)

 Fecal Occult Blood Test

Related Diseases & Conditions

 Anemia

 Stool Color & Texture Changes (Black, Red, Maroon, Green, Yellow, Gray, Tarry, Sticky)

 Pernicious Anemia

 Helicobacter Pylori

Gastritis
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Gastritis
The stomach, as everyone knows from watching TV ads, is J-shaped and collects swallowed
food and liquid. It then methodically grinds the food into small pieces and squirts it out in tiny
jets of fluid into the duodenum which is the first portion of the small intestine.
There are several types of cells lining the stomach. One produces hydrochloric acid and another,
pepsin, a digestive hormone. Along with the grinding motion of the stomach, these chemicals
break down the food and prepare it for digestion.
What is Gastritis
Gastritis means inflamation of the stomach. It means that white blood cells move into the wall of
the stomach as a response to some type of injury. Gastritis does not mean that there is an ulcer or
cancer. It is simply inflammation–either acute or chronic. What are the causes of gastritis?
Helicobacter Pylori
This is the name of a bacteria that has learned to live in the
thick mucous lining of the stomach. Although it doesn't
actually infect the underlying tissue, it does result in acute and
chronic inflammation. It probably occurs early in childhood
and remains throughout life unless antibiotics cure it. The
infection can lead to ulcers and, in later life, even to stomach
cancer in some people. Fortunately, there are now ways to make the diagnosis and treat this
disorder.
Autoimmune Gastritis - Pernicious Anemia
The immune system makes antibodies and other proteins that fight off infection and keep the
body healthy. In some disorders, the body mistakenly targets one of its own organs as a foreign
protein or infection. It makes antibodies against it and can severely damage or even destroy the
organ. Diseases such as lupus, hypothyroidism, rheumatoid arthritis and the type of diabetes that
requires insulin, are examples. The stomach lining also may be attacked by the immune system
leading to loss of the stomach cells. This causes acute and chronic inflammation which can result
in a condition called pernicious anemia. The anemia occurs because the body no longer can
absorb vitamin B12 due to a lack of a key stomach factor, destroyed by the chronic
inflammation. Stomach cancer can even occur later in life.
Aspirin & NSAID Gastritis
NSAID stands for non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug. These are arthritis and pain relievers
and include the over-the-counter drugs Advil, Naprosyn, Motrin and ibuprofen as well as many
prescription arthritis medicines such as Voltaren, Feldene, Lodine and Relafen. Along with
aspirin, they reduce a protective substance in the stomach called prostaglandin. These drugs
usually cause no problems when taken for the short-term. However, regular use can lead to a
gastritis as well as a more serious ulcer condition.
Alcohol
Alcohol and certain other chemicals can cause inflammation
and injury to the stomach. This is strictly dose related in that a
lot of alcohol is usually needed to cause gastritis. Social or
occasional alcohol use is not damaging to the stomach
although alcohol does stimulate the stomach to make acid.
Hypertrophic Gastritis
At times, the folds in the stomach will become enlarged and swollen along with the
inflammation. There is not a great deal known about why this occurs. A variation of this type of
gastritis is called Ménétrier's disease where the gastric folds become gigantic. With this
condition, there is often protein loss into the stomach from these weeping folds.
Miscellaneous
There are other but rarer types of gastritis such as eosinophilic, phlegmonous (a severe bacterial
infection) and granulomatous gastritis.
Symptoms
The symptoms of gastritis depend on how acute it is and how long it has been present. In the
acute phase, there may be pain or gnawing in the upper abdomen, nausea and vomiting. In the
chronic phase, the pain may be dull and there may be loss of appetite with a feeling of fullness
after several bites of food. Very often, there are no symptoms at all. If the pain is severe, there
may be an ulcer as well as gastritis.
Diagnosis
The physician may suspect gastritis by listening to the medical history. However, the only certain
way to make the diagnosis is by endoscopy and biopsy of the stomach lining. Endoscopy is an
exam where, under mild sedation, a lighted flexible scope is passed into the stomach. Pictures
can be taken but, more importantly, biopsies can be obtained for analysis under the microscope.
An upper GI x-ray exam and certain blood studies may be helpful.
Treatment
The treatment of gastritis will depend on its cause. For most types of gastritis, reduction of
stomach acid by medication is often helpful. Beyond that, a specific diagnosis needs to be made.
Antibiotics are used for infection. Elimination of aspirin, NSAIDs or alcohol is indicated when
one of these is the problem. For the more unusual types of gastritis, other treatments may be
needed. Gastritis by itself is rarely a serious problem.
Complications
The cause of most types of gastritis is known and effective treatment and preventive measures
are available so that serious complications are unusual. One exception is the H. pylori infection
which, when present for a long time, may lead to stomach cancer in some individuals. This
infection can also lead to a malignancy of the lymph system called a lymphoma. One such low-
grade lymphoma is called a MALT lymphoma. Eliminating the infection from the stomach often
cures this type of lymphoma.
Summary
The causes of gastritis are varied. The symptoms can be acute and severe or chronic, low-grade
or even absent. The diagnosis is usually easily made by endoscopy. In most instances, effective
treatment is available and serious complications are unusual. By working with the physician, a
good outcome usually occurs.