Diagnosis, Prevention & Management of Gastritis

The term “gastritis” is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of illnesses that all share the same symptom of inflammation of the stomach lining. The most frequent causes of gastritis are chronic painkiller usage or infection with the bacterium that causes stomach ulcers most frequently.  Gastritis develops when your mucus-lined barrier is damaged or compromised, allowing digestive juices to irritate or inflame the lining of your stomach. In the early stages of the condition, gastroenteritis has no symptoms. When your stomach lining is worn out and unable to defend itself against stomach acids and enzymes, symptoms develop.  

Visit Endoscopy Brownsville if you or a loved one are experiencing abdominal pain. Next, you should make an appointment with a specialist who specializes in treating gastritis.  

Diagnosis 

For diagnosis, your doctor will check your symptoms by conducting a physical exam and a detailed medical history of you and your family. Your doctor may already suspect gastritis but to confirm your condition, the doctor may order these tests:  

• Tests for H. pylori: For this test, the doctor takes a sample of your stool or orders an H.Pylori breath test to check whether you have bacteria H. pylori or not. The choice of a stool or breath test depends on your situation.  
• Blood test: To check other causes that may cause gastritis symptoms or any other signs of complications. 
• Endoscopy: This test is used to check the signs of inflammation. During this test, the doctor uses a flexible tube equipped with a lens (endoscope) to pass it from your throat to the esophagus, stomach, and small intestine to see a clear image of these parts. This test depends on your age and medical history, after the H.pylori test. If the doctor finds something suspicious then they may remove small tissue samples (biopsy) for laboratory testing.  
• X-ray of the upper digestive system: This test helps to see a clear image of your esophagus, stomach, and small intestine to find something unusual. To check an ulcer, you may need to swallow a white, metallic liquid that contains barium that coats your digestive tract.  

Treatment 

The treatment depends on the cause of your gastritis and whether it is acute or chronic.  

If you have acute gastritis, your gastritis goes away on its own when the cause gets cured/eliminated. Like if your gastritis is caused by an infection then the immune system will clear the infection in some time, and your inflammation will heal. If gastritis is caused by an overdose of alcohol or pills, then after the effects are gone, your stomach lining will repair itself. If blood flow to your stomach is blocked temporarily, then when it is restored, your stomach lining will begin to heal itself.  

But if you have chronic gastritis, you need to get treatment to fix your problem. Chronic gastritis can be linked with chronic conditions you have. So, you need to take the specific treatment according to your cause. Most conditions are curable with medication while some conditions are not curable, but long-term treatment can reduce the inflammation they cause. Chronic gastritis causes severe damage to tissues, so it may take longer to heal.  

Here are the treatment methods used to treat chronic gastritis, including:  

• Medications such as antacids or other drugs(such as proton pump inhibitors or H-2 blockers) are used to either block the cells that produce stomach acid or reduce the quantity until it reaches the stomach lining. Antacids give faster relief to gastritis-causing pain.  
• Avoid hot and spicy foods. 
• Eliminate foods that may irritate your stomach such as lactose from dairy or gluten from wheat.  
• If your gastritis is caused by H.pylori infection, then your doctor may give you several antibiotics to cure your infection.  
• If your gastritis is caused by pernicious anemia, then you need to take B12 vitamin shots.  
• Some drugs can be given to cure or manage your autoimmune disease.  

Prevention 

While there is no exact cause, gastritis is hard to prevent. However, you can use some strategies depending on your health and whether you do not have any condition that causes gastritis. Here are some tips: 

• Maintain good hygiene by washing hands regularly, don’t share personal utensils, etc.  
• Take good care of your mental health by practicing self-care and stress-managing techniques.  
• Eat smaller meals, chewing slowly and at regular intervals. Try to limit or avoid fried, salty, sugary, and spicy foods.  
• Quit smoking, if you do.  
• Avoid or limit your intake of alcohol or caffeine. 

Acute gastritis is not a serious problem if it happens. You can easily treat it at home. However, if your symptoms of gastritis are not going away on their own and get worse then, you should visit your healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment for better management, in case of chronic cause.  

If you are having difficulty digesting your food, you should consult a doctor.  If you are experiencing any of the symptoms of gastritis and are curious about its remedies, we recommend scheduling a consultation with Doral Health & Wellness. Please contact us at 1797 Pitkin Avenue, Brooklyn, New York 11212 if you have any business with us. If you are in New York City and in need of a Gastroenterologist, you may consider making an appointment at Endoscopy Treatment Center Brooklyn. Please contact Gastroenterologist in Brooklyn by calling +1(347) 384-5690.