Chronic gastritis refers to chronic inflammatory changes in the gastric mucosa due to various causes. After repeated damage to the epithelium of the gastric mucosa, the mucosa is altered due to the specific regenerative capacity of the mucosa, and eventually leads to irreversible atrophy of the intrinsic gastric glands, or even disappears, which we usually hear of as chronic atrophic gastritis; if not accompanied by atrophic changes in the gastric mucosa, it is chronic superficial gastritis. The disease is very common, accounting for about 80-90% of patients undergoing gastroscopy, with more men than women, and the incidence gradually increases with age. Etiology It is clear that Helicobacter pylori (Hp) infection is the most important cause of chronic gastritis, and some refer to it as Hp-associated gastritis. However, other harmful physical, chemical and biological factors, autoimmunity, alcoholism, aspirin and other drugs, and certain irritating foods can repeatedly damage the gastric mucosa and cause the disease. Chronic lesions can develop when the cause persists or recurs. Symptoms There may be intermittent or persistent epigastric vague pain (occasionally severe pain) and upper gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, acid reflux and heartburn, but clinical examinations such as gastroscopy, upper gastrointestinal barium angiography and hepatobiliary and pancreatic ultrasound do not reveal organic lesions or minor lesions of the stomach and other organs that cause these symptoms. This means that there are more subjective symptoms of the stomach, but few or no positive findings on objective tests. Examination When you have these symptoms, the first choice of examination is gastroscopy, for middle-aged and elderly patients, gastroscopy can also help to exclude stomach tumors; and you only have to blow a breath, you can know whether you have bacteria inside the stomach, namely Helicobacter pylori infection, it is the culprit of chronic gastritis, this test is called 13-C breath test, non-painful, non-toxic, non-radioactive, but only on an empty stomach. Treatment 1, remove the cause: avoid the factors that cause acute gastritis, such as quit smoking and alcohol avoid taking food that is irritating to the stomach and NSAID drugs such as aspirin. 2, diet treatment: many times less meals, soft food is the main, avoid cold and irritating food, less fried food, less pickled food, do not smoke less alcohol, less chili, pepper and other spicy food, to eat more vitamin C-rich vegetables and fruits regular diet; diet regular and quantitative, the temperature is appropriate, chew slowly, drink water to choose the time, pay attention to the cold. 3, drug treatment: Hp-related gastritis requires treatment to eradicate Hp. The other chronic gastritis is not yet a special treatment, most can not make the gastritis reversed, so the main symptomatic treatment. Prevention The main thing is to increase the body’s resistance and exercise the ability to adapt to environmental changes; improve life management, pay attention to dietary hygiene, and ensure good health; avoid or reduce foods that are too irritating to the stomach; deal with acute gastritis in a timely and appropriate manner; and remove the foci of infection in the body (mouth, nose, and throat). Prognosis The vast majority of superficial gastritis can be cured with active treatment, and only a few develop into atrophic gastritis. Intestinalization and mild to moderate atypical hyperplasia in atrophic gastritis can be improved or even reversed with appropriate treatment, but regular follow-up endoscopy should be performed. Severe atypical hyperplasia is a precancerous lesion and requires prophylactic endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) or endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD). The cancer rate of atrophic gastritis has been reported to be 1%.