What are the symptoms of gastritis?

Written by Zhu Dan Hua
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 15, 2024
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Gastritis is a common gastrointestinal disease with a variety of symptoms, including abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and hiccups. Sometimes, patients may feel full quickly, such as feeling bloated, abdominal pain, and burping after eating, so the symptoms are generally not specific. If treatment is necessary, an initial choice could be a gastroscopy. If no issues are found during the gastroscopy, symptomatic treatment could be provided. However, if symptoms extend beyond gastrointestinal issues like abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting, and include anemia, fever, noticeable weight loss, and wasting, it is especially advised for elderly individuals to visit the hospital for further examinations including gastroscopy to rule out diseases such as gastric ulcers.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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Does gastritis require infusion?

Gastritis is divided into acute gastritis and chronic gastritis. Common types of chronic gastritis include chronic superficial gastritis and chronic atrophic gastritis, which do not affect eating. Treatment plans are determined based on diagnostic results and whether there is a Helicobacter pylori infection. Treatment can be achieved through oral medication, so in these cases, infusion therapy is generally not necessary. If it is acute gastritis, accompanied by severe vomiting and inability to eat, this situation often requires infusion therapy, such as proton pump inhibitors for infection control, and supplementation of water and electrolytes to achieve therapeutic effects.

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Written by Jiang Guo Ming
Gastroenterology
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What causes gastritis?

Chronic gastritis can be divided into two main categories: chronic non-atrophic gastritis, which was previously referred to as chronic superficial gastritis, and chronic atrophic gastritis. The primary cause of chronic gastritis is generally considered to be Helicobacter pylori infection, which has a very high infection rate in our country, exceeding 50%. Moreover, inappropriate diet can also cause chronic gastritis, such as stimulation from smoking and drinking, irregular eating habits, overeating, as well as excessive consumption of raw, greasy, spicy, and other irritating foods. Additionally, emotional factors are closely related to chronic gastritis.

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Written by Yang Chun Guang
Gastroenterology
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How to treat gastritis

Gastritis is mostly caused by Helicobacter pylori infection, or factors such as improper diet, medications, and emotional stress, which lead to gastric mucosal damage. In terms of treatment, it is best to first conduct a gastroscopy and test for Helicobacter pylori to determine the type of gastritis and whether there is an infection. Treatment should then be guided by the results. If it is not possible to conduct these tests, one can use proton pump inhibitors to suppress stomach acid, in combination with gastric mucosal protectants. If reflux gastritis is present, prokinetic drugs should also be used to inhibit reflux. (Use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Written by Si Li Li
Gastroenterology
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Can people with gastritis eat peaches?

The main symptoms of chronic gastritis include upper abdominal pain, belching, acid reflux, nausea, vomiting, etc. It can be definitively diagnosed through a gastroscopy, which may reveal edema, hyperemia, and erosion of the gastric mucosa, thereby confirming the diagnosis of chronic gastritis. Once diagnosed, targeted and standardized treatment should be administered. Moreover, dietary habits must be carefully managed. Smoking and drinking alcohol should be avoided, as well as consuming spicy, fried, barbecued, and greasy foods. Fruit intake should also be controlled; for instance, only half a peach per day is advisable to avoid overconsumption. Overeating can exacerbate the burden on the gastrointestinal tract, making chronic gastritis more likely to recur. Additionally, one should not consume fruit taken directly from the refrigerator as such cold foods are strictly discouraged.

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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.