Next time you take an aspirin for a headache pay attention: Do you develop a slight burning sensation in your stomach? Or a wee bit of indigestion? like you just ate something that disagreed with you? Perhaps you experience the discomfort for no apparent reason. Or, you may have gastritis.
What is Gastritis?
Gastritis is a condition that occurs when white blood cells move into the wall of stomach due to some injury. It also refers to mild irritation, inflammation and infection of the stomach lining. It may be acute and chronic. The more chances of chronic gastritis are in people suffering from severe iron deficiency. The stomach is J-shaped where the foods and liquid consumed are collected and later broken down into pieces for digestion. Any disorder in the stomach lining will interfere with the proper digestion of food resulting in other physical disorders. If not treated properly it gives rise to ulcers also.
What causes Gastritis?
Gastritis can be caused by infection, irritation, autoimmune disorders (disorders caused by the body's immune response against its own tissues), or backflow of bile into the stomach (bile reflux). Gastritis can also be caused by a blood disorder called pernicious anemia.
Infections can be any of the following types: Bacterial (usually Helicobacter pylori), Viral (including herpes simplex virus), Parasitic or Fungal.
A number of things can cause irritation, including:
- Long-term medication use, such as aspirin, ibuprofen or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)
- Alcohol use
- Cigarette smoking
- Chronic vomiting
- Coffee and acidic beverages
- Excess gastric acid secretion (such as from stress)
- Eating or drinking caustic or corrosive substances (such as poisons)
- Trauma (for example, radiation treatments or having swallowed a foreign object).
Other causes for gastritis are very rare. These include:
- Systemic disease (for example, Crohn's disease)
- Sarcoidosis
What are the symptoms of Gastritis?
The most common symptoms of gastritis are stomach upset and pain. Other possible symptoms include:
- Indigestion (also called dyspepsia)
- Heartburn
- Abdominal pain
- Hiccups
- Loss of appetite
- Nausea
- Vomiting, possibly of blood (called hematemesis) or material that looks like coffee-grounds
- Dark stools
What can I do about it?
- Carom seeds (ajwain), one table spoon mixed with a pinch of black salt are very effective in curing gastritis.
- For stimulating the digestive system, one should chew fresh ginger before meals, thus preventing gastritis.
- Consuming coconut water is a wonderful remedy in treating gastritis.
- Carrot juice mixed with spinach juice in equal amount is the excellent remedy for treating gastritis.
- Consumption of water and fruits juices is very much recommended in gastritis condition.
- Applying hot water bottle on empty stomach twice daily is a very effective way of relieving from gastritis.
- Potato juice (half cup) is highly recommended before meals to avoid gastritis.
- Fresh lime juice is very much helpful in avoiding gastric condition.
- Half pound of yogurt mixed with pinch of black salt is good remedy in treating gastritis.
- One should make it a habit to chew roasted fennel (saunf) after meals, if he suffers from gastritis.
- Asafoetida (hing) and cumin (jeera) water is to be mixed with tamarind (imli) water and then consumed to get relieved from gastritis.
- One should particularly consume light food and avoid heavy spicy food.
- Butter milk is also an effective remedy in treating gastritis.
- Avoid consuming alcohol, tea and coffee to prevent gastritis.
A balanced and well controlled diet is also required to cure gastritis in short period of time. The individuals suffering from the disease should avoid spicy foods, strong tea and coffee, pickles, meat and chilies. Moreover, one should go to sleep at least two hours after taking the meal. Maintaining a proper and healthy routine helps in getting quick relief from gastritis.
