Medications used to treat gastritis include: Antibiotic medications to kill H. pylori. For H. pylori in your digestive tract, your doctor may recommend a combination of antibiotics, such as clarithromycin (Biaxin XL) and amoxicillin (Amoxil, Augmentin, others) or metronidazole (Flagyl), to kill the bacterium.
Emergency care for abdominal pain
Severe stomach pain that makes it difficult to function, move, eat, or drink. Sudden onset of stomach pain. High fever. Blood in your stool or vomit.
Left untreated, gastritis may lead to stomach ulcers and stomach bleeding. Rarely, some forms of chronic gastritis may increase your risk of stomach cancer, especially if you have extensive thinning of the stomach lining and changes in the lining's cells.
Treatment for gastritis usually involves: Taking antacids and other drugs (such as proton pump inhibitors or H-2 blockers) to reduce stomach acid. Avoiding hot and spicy foods.
Generally, acute gastritis lasts anywhere from 2-10 days and can be greatly improved with symptomatic treatment. People usually recover from acute gastritis without complications or need for further medical intervention.
Dr Sarmed Sami advises that gastritis can last between a few days to a month or longer. The treatment will depend on the specific cause for each patient. If you're experiencing gastritis, book an appointment to seek expert care. Dr Sarmed Sami advises that gastritis can last between a few days to a month or longer.
Surgical intervention is not necessary for gastritis, except in the case of phlegmonous gastritis or acute necrotizing gastritis. With the latter entity, surgical intervention with resection of the affected area may be the most effective form of treatment. Consult a gastroenterologist in complicated cases.
Gastritis is inflammation (irritation) of the stomach lining. Common causes include infection, anti-inflammatory medication and alcohol. Treatment options include avoiding exposure to known irritants, and medication to reduce the amount of gastric juices.
There are prevention strategies for gastritis. But to get fast relief, a person will probably need to use over-the-counter medications that block or reduce stomach acid. Examples include calcium carbonate (Tums) or omeprazole (Prilosec). Learn more about antacids.
Gastritis Can Become a Serious Emergency
Feeling confused or passing out can also indicate blood loss. If there is bright red or maroon blood in the stool, a “tarry” appearance in the stool, or vomiting of blood, this is considered an emergency and may be life-threatening.
If gastritis has been around for a long time, complications such as bleeding gastric ulcers (ulcer ventriculi) may need to be operated on. This requires hospitalization.
Chronic gastritis is a condition in which the stomach lining is damaged long-term, often due to infection by H. pylori. Chronic gastritis does not usually cause indigestion or pain, but severe damage may result in anemia due to vitamin B12 deficiency.
Pain from gas is often fleeting and non-serious. If it is uncomfortable, some over-the-counter medications usually ease the pain and bloatedness quite quickly. However, if it occurs with fever, persistent vomiting or diarrhoea, or unbearable pain, a visit to the doctor is recommended.
Sometimes it's mild — and other times, it's an all-consuming, will-this-ever-end, curled-up-on-the-floor kind of pain. Gastritis can be a total downer — not just because of the stomach pains, but also because of how it crimps your lifestyle, causing you to live with the constant fear of when it might happen next.
Rarely, long-term gastritis can cause the cells in your stomach lining to restructure themselves to look like a different sort of tissue altogether. This is called gastric intestinal metaplasia. Healthcare providers consider this cellular change precancerous, meaning it can raise your risk of developing stomach cancer.
Upper GI endoscopy
A pathologist will examine the tissue with a microscope. Doctors may use upper GI endoscopy to diagnose gastritis or gastropathy, determine the cause, and manage complications. Your doctor may order an upper GI endoscopy with biopsies to diagnose gastritis and gastropathy.
Call 999 or go to A&E if:
you're vomiting bright red blood or your vomit looks like ground coffee. your poo is black, sticky and extremely smelly. you have severe tummy or chest pain that started suddenly.
Water has a neutral ph. Drinking large amounts of water controls the acid levels of gastric juices, which helps accelerate the healing of gastritis. You should avoid drinking too much water immediately before and after meals, as it can be counterproductive.
Complications of acute gastritis include the following: Bleeding from an erosion or ulcer. Gastric outlet obstruction due to edema limiting an adequate transfer of food from the stomach to the small intestine. Dehydration from vomiting.
Gastritis may last for only a short time (acute gastritis) or it may linger for months to years (chronic gastritis).
Over the lifetime of the infected person, inflammation may destroy the glandular elements (atrophy) and intestinal cells often replace gastric mucus-secreting epithelium (intestinal metaplasia). The resulting atrophic gastritis is the final “burned out” phase of H. pylori infection, usually seen in older persons.