stomach health

Gastritis: Symptoms and Complications

Causes of gastritis

Gastritis is an inflammation of the gastric mucosa, which can suddenly arise violently (acute gastritis) or manifest itself more mildly during a longer period of time (chronic gastritis).

The causes of gastritis are particularly numerous and different, and it is precisely on the basis of the cause that triggers the disease that it manifests itself in a more or less aggressive way. In most cases, gastritis - so-called "common" - is the result of an unregulated diet (rich in excesses, spicy and fat-rich foods, irritating foods or spices of the gastric mucosa, etc.), alcoholism, smoking, recurrent infections and abuse of gastrolesive drugs. More rarely, the origin of gastritis lies in autoimmune diseases, psychosomatic disorders, Helicobacter pylori infections, radiotherapy and gastric burns. Gastritis is often related to the formation of gastric ulcers, which in turn are responsible for worsening gastric symptoms.

Gastritis: symptoms

To learn more: Gastritis symptoms

Heartburn - known to most as heartburn - is the common symptom of all symptomatic gastritis variants. However, it is important to point out that the symptoms of gastritis are quite varied and differ depending on the cause, the patient's general state of health and the progression (acute or chronic) of the disorder.

Acute gastritis symptoms (extremely common)

Signs and symptoms of chronic gastritis

  • Bad breath
  • Bitter mouth
  • Stomach ache
  • Weight loss
  • Dysphagia
  • Dyspepsia
  • Hemorrhage (symptom of hemorrhagic gastritis)
  • Fever (rare)
  • Tarpous feces
  • Flatulence
  • lack of appetite
  • Meteorism (swollen belly)
  • Nausea
  • Abdominal fullness sensation after a meal
  • He retched
  • Acloridia / hypochloridria (typical of atrophic gastritis)
  • Hypergastrinemia, deficit or lack of pepsinogen secretion and intrinsic factor (typical of atrophic gastritis)
  • Increased risk of stomach cancer
  • Peptic ulcer formation
  • Halitosis, gastric pyrosis, anorexia, meteorism, nausea, vomiting, blood in faeces and vomit

Complications

All variants of gastritis require a therapy, which can be simply behavioral, therefore based on the correction of incorrect eating or living habits, or pharmacological. In the event of failed therapy, in fact, the symptoms of gastritis can become more acute, weighing heavily on the patient's health. Among the most frequent complications associated with gastritis, we recall:

  • Gastric ulcers
  • Stomach bleeding
  • Perforations of the stomach
  • Pernicious anemia, possible complication of atrophic gastritis
  • Hyperhomocysteinemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency, possible complication of atrophic gastritis
  • Increased risk of gastric cancer, a complication derived from autoimmune atrophic gastritis or from H. pylori gastritis - dependent untreated
  • Hypovolemic shock and death (extremely rare complications, derived from untreated haemorrhagic gastritis)

A correlation between autoimmune atrophic gastritis and other serious pathologies has also been highlighted, such as: Hashimoto's thyroiditis, thyrotoxicosis, myxedema, Addison's disease and type I diabetes.

Considerations

Gastritis is therefore a multiform and variegated disorder, whose symptoms may appear in a mild or more violent way. It is however necessary to point out that the typical symptoms of gastritis are not always a lit sign of an ongoing disease. Often, in fact, a large and hyperlipidic meal, especially when consumed voraciously, causes heartburn, a sensation of gastric fullness and nausea. In such circumstances, the alleged gastritis is soon resolvable by a dietary correction. Even natural remedies for gastritis are sometimes sufficient to alleviate the characteristic symptoms.

If heartburn, nausea and dyspepsia continue to haunt the patient, it is recommended to consult a doctor or specialist to undertake a specific therapy for gastritis as soon as possible (for more information: read the article on drugs for the treatment of gastritis).