In the foreword, “the kidney is the foundation of the first day, and the spleen and stomach are the foundation of the second day”. Weak kidneys can prolong life by nourishing the spleen and stomach; conversely, a strong kidney with a poor spleen and stomach will also shorten life. There is no such thing as a person with a bad spleen and stomach who has a long life.
Clinical manifestations
(1) The most common symptom is epigastric pain, accounting for about 85%. Most of the epigastric pain in patients with chronic gastritis is irregular and has nothing to do with diet (some patients are comfortable on an empty stomach and uncomfortable after meals), and is generally diffuse chronic epigastric burning pain, hidden pain, distension, etc.
(2) Abdominal distension, accounting for 70%. Often due to retention in the stomach, delayed emptying, and indigestion.
(3) Belching, which is present in about 50% of patients, increases gas in the patient’s stomach and expels it through the esophagus, resulting in temporary relief of epigastric fullness.
(4) Recurrent bleeding is also a common manifestation of chronic gastritis. The cause of bleeding is an acute inflammatory change in the gastric mucosa that is complicated by chronic gastritis.
(5) Other, loss of appetite, acid reflux, nausea and vomiting, weakness, constipation or diarrhea, etc.
(6) Chronic gastritis lacks the typical positive signs. There may be epigastric pain on physical examination, and a few patients may have wasting and anemia.
Atrophic gastritis sometimes manifests as anemia, wasting, tongue inflammation and diarrhea.
What are the common causes of chronic gastritis?
(Dietary factors: dietary factors are one of the main treatment factors of gastric disease, accounting for about 68%). If the meal time is not fixed, if you do not eat for a long time or a short period of continuous eating can damage the gastric mucosa, leading to gastric disease, so patients with gastric disease should eat regularly and quantitatively.
Drinking alcohol: Long-term consumption of strong alcohol causes damage to the gastric mucosa cells, and the higher the concentration of alcohol, the stronger the damage. Long-term direct stimulation of the gastric mucosa, so that chronic inflammation of the gastric mucosa.
Nicotine, the main harmful component of tobacco, stimulates the gastric mucosa causing an increase in gastric acid secretion, which can have harmful effects. Nicotine can cause central nausea, vomiting and accelerated intestinal motility.
Drug Factors: Long-term overdose of drugs that stimulate the gastric mucosa can also cause the onset of chronic gastritis. For example, aspirin, anti-inflammatory pain, POTUS, prednisone, etc.
Biological factors bacteria, especially Hp (Helicobacter pylori) infection, and chronic gastritis is closely related to the mechanism is ① Hp is spiral, with flagellar structure, free to move in the mucus layer, and close contact with mucosal cells, direct invasion of the gastric mucosa; ② produce a variety of enzymes and metabolites such as urease and its metabolites ammonia, peroxidase, proteolytic enzymes, phospholipase A, etc., can destroy the gastric mucosa; ③ Cytotoxin (Cytotoxin) can cause cell vacuolar degeneration. ④Hp antibody can cause autoimmune damage.
Secondly, chronic inflammation of the nasal cavity, oral cavity and pharynx: chronic infectious lesions in the nasal cavity, oral cavity and pharynx, such as alveolar overflow pus, tonsillitis, sinusitis, etc., bacteria or their toxins swallowed into the stomach, causing long-term chronic stimulation of the stomach, can cause inflammation of the gastric mucosa.
Mental factors: under the repeated action of excessive mental stimulation, depression, exertion and other mental factors, due to these strong pathological impulses constantly transmitted to the cerebral cortex, so that the cortical nerve cells are overstressed, resulting in the imbalance between the cortical excitation and inhibition process, as a result, the cortical function is weakened, or even failure. The loss of cortical inhibition in the subcortical centers and the long-term excitation of nerve cells lead to pathological changes in the stomach, such as spasmodic constriction of blood vessels in the stomach wall, formation of ischemic zones, malnutrition of the gastric mucosa, and abnormal secretion of gastric glands. Long-term disorders can produce organic lesions and become chronic gastritis.
How to prevent the occurrence of chronic gastritis?
The method of prevention of chronic gastritis, neither like infectious diseases to prevent bacterial infection, nor like autoimmune diseases, can be vaccinated to obtain immunity, but most importantly, life, diet attention, should do the following.
Try to avoid stimulation such as strong tea, smoking and alcohol to prevent damage to the gastric mucosal barrier and reduce gastric dysfunction.
Try to avoid raw, cold, spicy, greasy, too salty food. At the same time, food should be diversified, diet should be regular and nutritious, a single diet and too many carbohydrates are not good for the stomach.
Keep a happy spirit, cheerful mood, especially when eating do not get angry, or depressed, these mental factors can affect the movement and secretion function of the stomach, leading to indigestion and gastritis.
Strictly follow medical advice and take certain drugs as prescribed, because some drugs, such as aspirin, botaxone, anti-inflammatory pain, hormones, antibiotics and other drugs, can often cause damage to the gastric mucosa and cause gastritis to occur.
For acute gastritis, efforts must be made to treat it thoroughly, while identifying the cause of its onset and preventing recurrence, so that these lesions do not evolve or complicate chronic gastritis.
To prevent Hp infection, it is important to pay attention to oral hygiene to prevent the disease from entering through the mouth. Hp can survive in tap water for 4 to 10 days, so do not drink raw water, eat cooked food instead of raw food, and drink milk after sterilization. There is also a risk of spreading the disease by kissing a person with ulcer disease, so be vigilant.
Actively treat nasopharyngeal diseases (sinusitis, pharyngitis, etc.) and oral diseases (teeth, gingivitis and alveolar abscesses, etc.). And do not swallow sputum, nasal mucus, etc. into the stomach. These secretions often carry bacteria, which can lead to chronic gastritis when the gastric mucosal barrier is low.
Actively treat systemic diseases, such as liver, biliary and pancreatic diseases, heart and kidney diseases, which can lead to gastric malfunction and chronic gastritis.
Strengthen physical exercise, enhance physical fitness, combine work and rest, and strengthen the motor function of the stomach and intestines.
Why do patients with gastric disease need to pay attention to dietary regimen?
Through the analysis of the etiology of chronic gastritis, we have confirmed that the onset of chronic gastritis is most closely related to improper diet. Inappropriate diet mainly includes: long-term irregularity in eating, eating too fast, too hot, too hard, too cold, preferring sweet, salty, sour food as well as greasy or spicy stimulating food. At the same time, these factors are also one of the main causes of further aggravation of gastric disease.
”The stomach is the sea of water and grain. Since the stomach receives and cooks water and grain directly, the taste, quantity, temperature, cooking method and eating method of the diet directly affect the function of the stomach. Most patients can consciously pay attention to their diet during an attack or exacerbation, however, once their condition improves or symptoms disappear, especially during the holiday season, they cannot resist the temptation of food, which often results in the re-aggravation or recurrence of gastric disease. Some patients have relapsed because they ate a bite of steamed bread, or ate a few peanuts that were not easily chewed and digested, resulting in a relapse of gastric disease. Diet is directly related to the prognosis, we should strictly control the disease from the mouth.