Gastritis is associated with inflammatory swelling of the gastric mucosa or even ulcer-like mucosal damage. Although spontaneous healing of gastric ulcers is possible in many cases, treatment of gastritis is often necessary. Here we inform you about therapy and prevention.
Spontaneous healing possible
A certain percentage (up to 40 percent) of gastric and duodenal ulcers regress spontaneously. The healing process is apparently promoted by a change in the patient’s psycho-vegetative constellation.
This assumption is also supported by scientific studies, according to which about 40 to 50 percent of patients are cured by placebos (dummy medications without active ingredients). The effectiveness of acid-binding drugs (antacids) barely exceeds the success rate of placebos.
Treatment – Acute gastritis
Acute gastritis often does not require treatment. It usually heals relatively quickly even without therapy. The acute painful phase lasts about 24 hours. Because of this short period, medication is usually not used.
If external influences such as excessive alcohol consumption are the trigger, the patient is prescribed at least 24 hours of abstinence from food. During this time, the gastric mucosa calms down again and can recover. If the cause is medication, such as rheumatoid pain medication, acute gastritis is treated with so-called proton pump inhibitors or prostaglandin derivatives.
Treatment – Chronic gastritis: type A and type B.
To treat vitamin B12 anemia, the vitamin is injected. Because type A gastritis is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer, regular annual endoscopic examination with the collection of tissue samples of the gastric mucosa (biopsy) should be performed.
In type B gastritis (Helicobacter pylori infection), medication is targeted to eradicate the pathogen. This treatment is called eradication. Today’s standard is the combination of antibiotics and proton pump inhibitors. Only this combination treatment succeeds in directly combating the Helicobactor pylori pathogen. Targeted are used:
- Proton pump inhibitors. They provide reduction of gastric acid production.
- Antibiotics
All three drugs must be taken for at least seven days, otherwise the safe effect is not guaranteed. At the earliest after four weeks, a new gastroscopy is performed. Again, samples are taken from the stomach wall to check the success of therapy. If the urease test is negative, then the eradication treatment was successful.
Treatment – Chronic gastritis: type-C.
The most effective therapy for type-C gastritis is to reduce gastric acid production so that the damage to the gastric mucosa can heal or not progress further. Today, proton pump inhibitors are used primarily for this purpose. If medications are taken that are known to trigger gastritis, they should, if possible, be discontinued for the duration of the treatment.
As an additional treatment, if gastritis is triggered by bile acids, gastric emptying can be accelerated to minimize the contact time of the bile acids with the gastric mucosa. This can be achieved by administering certain medications called prokinetics.
Preventive measures
To prevent gastritis from occurring in the first place, it is important to follow the following advice:
- Take care of your psychosocial health.
- Never take painkillers permanently and on your own prescription. Discuss the dose and duration of any painkiller use with your doctor!
- Excessive use of acid-promoting agents such as alcohol, coffee, tea, nicotine or citrus fruits is not advisable.
