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- What is gastritis?
- Symptoms of gastritis
- Causes of gastritis
- Prevention of gastritis
- Risk factors for gastritis
- Complications of gastritis
- When to see a doctor about gastritis
- Diagnosis of gastritis
- Conventional treatment of gastritis
- Alternative/complementary treatment of gastritis
- Living with gastritis
- Caring for someone with gastritis
Conventional treatment of gastritis
Initially, conservative treatment will be recommended for gastritis:
Dietary advice
- Avoid alcohol - drinking of any alcohol needs to be eased, or at least greatly limited to give the stomach lining a chance to heal properly
- Avoid the food triggers - spicy food, citrus fruit, acidic foods, chocolate, coffee, fatty foods, can all cause gastritis symptoms to get worse, so it will be recommended to limit intake of these foods (and any others that are known to the patient to trigger symptoms)
- Dietary modification - it is normally recommended, when there is a severe gastritis flare-up to eat very bland foods which are easily digested and do not cause much acid to be produced in their digestion. Foods such as cracker, rice, toast, ripe bananas, clear soup, baked or boiled potatoes, plain pasta are recommended until symptoms have cleared. It is advisable to avoid meat and other high protein foods during a severe flare-up as these foods can cause a great deal of acid to be produced to break down their proteins in order to be digested and absorbed by the body
Lifestyle advice
- Reduce stress - stress can cause excessive acid production which greatly irritates the stomach lining because if it is happening too much, the mucous lining gets eroded by the acid which gets to the lining to cause erosion and pain ensues
- Stop smoking - smoking causes problems with the stomach lining by irritating the mucous lining of the stomach, making symptoms worse and preventing complete healing
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Medication
Different types and combinations of medications are prescribed depending on severity and duration of symptoms, which is part of conservative, first line conventional treatment for gastritis (usually with the dietary and lifestyle advice):
- Antacids - these are the first line of defence for mild to moderate gastritis, most contain calcium to provide protection for the stomach lining and help with healing. There is some controversy with their use, especially as most contain aluminium, which has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease
- Histamine-2 receptor antagonist - these drugs work to inhibit acid production in the stomach, inhibiting histamine from switching on acid production. These drugs help to heal the irritation and damage to the stomach lining
- Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) - these drugs work to inhibit acid production in the stomach, to help enable healing of the irritation of the lining more quickly
- Other drugs - there are a number of other drugs that work to reduce stomach acid production and promote healing. Some of these medications that are used are: Sucralfate and Misoprostol
If conservative treatment does not work, then a gastroscopy will be performed and further treatment of gastritis will depend on the findings of the endoscopy:
- If no bacterial infection is found, then usually no treatment advice is given other than the same dietary advise and to learn to relax (as stress causes more acid production in the stomach, which can damage the lining)
- If bacterial infection is found, especially if it is of the Helicobacter pylori bacterium, a combination of antibiotics and other stomach medications is recommended to eradicate the bacteria. After the medication protocol is completed, a follow-up course of treatment may be required if the first treatment did not work (or didn't work adequately enough to reduce bacterium levels, which will be determined with a breath test)
Medication
Medication for gastritis caused by Helicobacter pylori bacterium infection is through a combination of antibiotics (to heal the bacterial infection) and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), to reduce the acidity in the stomach so that the bacteria can be more effectively reduced and the stomach lining healed.
- Antibiotics - these are prescribed in combination with the PPI or H2 blocker drugs to get rid of the helicobacter pylori bacterium
- Proton pump inhibitors (PPI) - these drugs (H2 blockers) work to inhibit acid production in the stomach, to help heal the irritation of the lining more quickly
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< 8: diagnosis 10: alternative treatment > Last reviewed: 27 January 2009 || Last updated: 20 January 2010
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NOTE: Mega doses of any type of vitamin, mineral, amino acid or herbal supplement cannot cure illnesses and in fact can be very dangerous and produce toxic side effects and interfere with medicine you are taking. Always ensure you consult your doctor before taking any type of complementary supplements.
Disclaimer: This guide is not intended to be used for diagnostic or prescriptive purposes. For any treatment or diagnosis of illness, please see your doctor.
