What should I do if I have a flare-up of gastritis?

Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 27, 2024
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When experiencing gastritis, it is important to actively use medical treatments, such as gastroprotective agents that suppress gastric acid secretion and antibiotics. At the same time, dietary adjustments should be made. The recurrence of gastritis is directly related to irregular eating habits. It's essential to follow a light diet, consume more vegetables and fruits, and eat less spicy, greasy, and stimulating foods. Additionally, avoid stimulants like strong tea, coffee, and hard liquor. Consume more vegetables to increase dietary fiber, and eat foods that are gentle on the stomach lining and easy to digest, such as millet porridge, rice soup, vegetable soup, and steamed egg custard.

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Written by Wu Hai Wu
Gastroenterology
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Does gastritis infect people?

Regarding whether gastritis can be contagious, it requires specific analysis of the circumstances. If the gastritis is caused by an infection of Helicobacter pylori, then it can be transmitted to others through shared meals or fecal-oral transmission. Under such circumstances, if others do not maintain clean eating habits or overeat, they are at a higher risk of developing chronic gastritis. If the occurrence of gastritis is not due to an infection from Helicobacter pylori, then it will not be contagious to others. Patients with gastritis should be cautious with their diet, avoiding spicy and irritating foods, and should not overeat. It’s important to eat regularly and in moderate amounts, and maintain a bland diet.

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Written by Ren Zheng Xin
Gastroenterology
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Can gastritis be cured?

Gastritis can be cured, primarily through medication, such as protecting the gastric mucosa, inhibiting gastric acid secretion, and appropriately using antibiotics. If there is a Helicobacter pylori infection, specific treatment for Helicobacter pylori must be conducted. After the treatment of gastritis, it is crucial to pay attention to dietary adjustments. Irregular eating habits can lead to the recurrence of gastritis. Therefore, it is advisable to maintain a light diet, consume more vegetables and fruits, eat less spicy and irritating food, avoid strong tea, coffee, and hard liquor which can damage the gastric mucosa, and keep a relaxed mood, which also positively affects the treatment of stomach diseases.

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Written by Zhu Dan Hua
Gastroenterology
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How to diagnose gastritis

Gastritis is a common disease in clinical practice, generally divided into chronic gastritis and acute gastritis. Acute gastritis is most commonly characterized by abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. The symptoms of chronic gastritis vary and mainly include discomfort in the abdomen, nausea and vomiting, decreased appetite, and even early satiety. For the diagnosis of chronic and acute gastritis, the preferred examination is gastroscopy. Gastroscopy includes both conventional and painless procedures, both aimed at examining the condition of the gastric mucosa. However, for some elderly patients, particularly those with underlying conditions like coronary heart disease, the risk associated with gastroscopy is higher. Therefore, if conventional or painless gastroscopy is not suitable for the patient, abdominal CT and upper GI barium meal can be chosen instead. After completing the gastroscopy, if chronic gastritis or gastric ulcers are diagnosed, it is advisable to further conduct tests to screen for Helicobacter pylori.

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Written by Wu Peng
Gastroenterology
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What are the symptoms of gastritis?

Chronic gastritis often lacks specific clinical manifestations, and the correlation between the pathological histological examination results of the gastric mucosa and the clinical manifestations is also relatively poor. Some patients show changes in the mucosa indicative of gastritis during gastroscopy, and pathological histological examinations reveal inflammation, but they may have no or only mild clinical symptoms. The clinical manifestations of most chronic gastritis are merely upper gastrointestinal dyspeptic symptoms, such as a sense of fullness in the upper abdomen, irregular dull pain, belching, decreased appetite, weight loss, fatigue, and worsening upper abdominal discomfort after eating. Patients with chronic gastritis often have no obvious specific physical signs; some may have mild upper abdominal tenderness or discomfort upon palpation. Patients with gastric mucosal lesions may have positive fecal occult blood tests; however, vomiting blood or having black stool is very rare, and long-term poor appetite or minor bleeding might be accompanied by anemia. In severe cases of atrophic gastritis and pernicious anemia, significant anemia symptoms may be present.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
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What is suitable to eat for gastritis?

Due to the fast pace of modern life, people often experience high levels of stress, which can lead to poor dietary and living habits. As a result, stomach diseases have become one of the most common ailments among modern people. In addition to following medical advice for treatment, daily dietary and living habits are particularly important. First of all, we need to develop the habit of eating regularly and quantitatively, or eating small meals frequently, avoiding being too hungry or too full, and certainly not binge eating. The principle of diet should focus on light and easy-to-digest foods, such as soft, mushy rice or noodles. It is appropriate to consume fresh fruits and vegetables, and avoid consuming too much spicy, greasy, or raw and cold foods, while maintaining a good mood.