Long gone are the days when people did not think about the quality of food, because they grew everything themselves and ate exclusively home-cooked food. Today, most manufacturers only care about their wallets, pumping their products with various substances. In addition, humanity is addicted to fried, spicy, smoked, salty, sweet and fatty foods, and drinks an incredible amount of carbonated drinks and coffee. Treatment of some diseases is impossible without antibiotics, and not every patient is in a hurry to restore the intestinal microflora after antibiotic therapy. Due to all these and many other reasons, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract develop, one of which is anacid gastritis. Symptoms and treatment, diagnosis, the role of proper nutrition and other important information are all in this article.
The role of acidity in the human stomach
Hydrochloric acid performs several important functions:
- Takes an active part in protein digestion.
- It has a bactericidal effect, which helps destroy pathogenic microorganisms. Otherwise, the mucous membrane will constantly become inflamed.
- Necessary for normal peristalsis.
When anacid gastritis is diagnosed, all these functions are impaired. It is also known that a lack of hydrochloric acid causes a decrease in immunity. This leads to frequent illnesses and causes a feeling of chronic fatigue and the development of tumor diseases.
Complications
Often anacid gastritis provokes the development of:
- pancreatitis,
- cholecystitis,
- dysbacteriosis,
- colitis,
- chronic enteritis.
Due to atrophy of the gastric mucosa, iron deficiency anemia and B-12 deficiency anemia develop.
Due to loss of appetite and pain, weight loss occurs, sometimes to the stage of exhaustion. The most serious complication that aggravates this type of gastritis is stomach cancer. This makes regular examination by a doctor and registration at a dispensary mandatory.
With anacid gastritis, it is very important not to miss the first symptoms, which means you need to be more attentive to your body. Perhaps such vigilance will allow you not to miss precious time and will make it possible to normalize the patient’s condition. Diet and properly selected treatment are very important for consistently good health.
Author : Svetlana Nikolaevna Golubeva, especially for the site Zhkt.ru
Reasons for the development of pathology
This type of gastritis is much less common than, for example, hyperacid gastritis, so it has not yet been possible to identify the “culprits” of its occurrence with 100% accuracy. Nevertheless, scientists were able to determine what can provoke anacid gastritis:
- Too spicy and hot food.
- Excessive coffee consumption, especially on an empty stomach.
- One or two meals a day with a large interval between meals.
- Food dry (no soups in the diet).
- Alcohol abuse and frequent smoking.
Symptoms that indicate this disease
Since any form of this pathology manifests itself with approximately the same symptoms, without clinical studies it will be difficult to understand that this is anacid gastritis. Symptoms:
- bad breath that does not go away even after brushing your teeth;
- vomiting with mucus or bile;
- stomach pain and feeling of heaviness;
- weight loss without good reason;
- bowel dysfunction - diarrhea or constipation;
- belching with an unpleasant taste in the mouth;
- fatigue and loss of appetite.
The longer anacid gastritis develops, the more severe the symptoms. In addition, if you do not start treatment, there is a high probability of a number of other signs of the disease:
- progressive weight loss;
- development of concomitant gastrointestinal pathologies;
- aversion to certain foods, which was not the case before;
- flatulence and rumbling in the stomach;
- development of anemia.
Both lists of symptoms can also relate to other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, so in any case, if one or more signs appear, you should visit a gastroenterologist and get tested to clarify the diagnosis.
Standard answers
Many of us are already so accustomed to the feeling of heaviness or heartburn that we do not pay much attention to these symptoms. And what’s even worse is that they prescribe widely advertised remedies to relieve unpleasant symptoms, without visiting a gastroenterologist or conducting at least a minimal examination of the body. Of course, such behavior is unacceptable and can lead to the most disastrous consequences. Because chronic gastritis is not a trivial disease at all. Some of its forms, without proper treatment, inevitably develop into cancer. Therefore, today we want to draw your attention to the most dangerous type of this disease - chronic atrophic gastritis.
Diagnostic research methods to confirm the diagnosis
When a doctor suspects chronic anacid gastritis, he prescribes a procedure for the patient, the purpose of which is to determine the level of acidity. For this, a tube with electrodes at the end connected to a special device is used. It is introduced into the patient’s mouth, then gradually moved through the pharynx into the esophagus, and from there into the stomach. During the journey, the device takes readings from the mucous membrane and transmits it to the screen. This procedure is called “intragastric pH-metry”.
Anacidic gastritis is when, according to the results of the study, the pH level fluctuates around 5-6. Other tests are also carried out to clarify the patient’s health status and determine a treatment plan. Among them:
- general and biochemical blood test;
- X-ray of the stomach with contrast agent;
- spinal puncture - this procedure is necessary to determine anemia;
- fibrogastroscopy;
- analysis of stomach contents to identify bacteria;
- biopsy of the gastric mucosa.
Reasons for weakening protection
To determine the level of hydrochloric acid production, the method of intragastric pH-metry is used. For anacid gastritis, the pH value is 5-6, which indicates a decrease in its concentration in gastric juice.
Treatment of gastritis still occurs in the same way as many years ago and the technique has not changed. Experts cannot definitively determine the causes of insufficient fermentation. It is proposed to consider impaired metabolism and genetic disorders as contributing factors. Therefore, when collecting anamnesis, the doctor finds out the presence of pathology in relatives.
The course of anacid gastritis is sluggish, mild, there are symptoms that do not cause much concern. Although the disease itself is quite a serious problem for the patient. The purpose of acid in the stomach is defined by nature as a bactericidal agent. If the concentration of hydrochloric acid is reduced, its protection is weakened and harmful bacteria enter the body, disturbing the microflora of the stomach.
The cause of anacid gastritis can be acute gastritis, sometimes dysentery, which was not treated correctly.
The trigger mechanism is:
- Disturbed eating patterns - refusal of breakfast, significant breaks between meals, large portions.
- Abuse of sauces, high-calorie dishes, fast food.
- Helicobacter pylori.
- Bad habits (smoking, alcohol).
- Overexertion, frequently recurring stressful situations.
- Harmful production.
- Food poisoning.
Why is this disease dangerous?
Anacidic gastritis, the symptoms of which are poorly expressed at the initial stage, is dangerous because it does not make itself felt immediately, because this way the patient would have the opportunity to immediately begin treatment. Otherwise, that is, without appropriate therapy, your health will only worsen.
As already written above, hydrochloric acid is necessary for the digestion of food entering the stomach, and it also has a disinfecting and bactericidal effect. When the synthesis of this important fluid is impaired, functions are disrupted, during which pathogenic microbes are activated, destroying the microflora. This condition leads to the development of a wide variety of diseases, such as enteritis, pancreatitis, colitis, cholecystitis and dysbacteriosis.
Anacidic form
Anacidic gastritis is characterized by zero acidity and is quite rare among patients. Pathology can occur after gastritis with low acidity. There is almost no hydrochloric acid in the stomach, which prevents food from being properly digested. Proteins supplied with food are practically not digested, and their breakdown products poison the entire body of the patient.
As a result of the disease, parietal cells atrophy, an imbalance of microflora occurs, microbes and viruses almost freely enter the body along with food. Against this background, the mucous membrane becomes thinner, the immune system practically does not resist, and all sorts of diseases develop, including the appearance of cancer. Due to decreased motor skills, the patient suffers from constipation.
Treatment of anacid gastritis: all available methods
To eliminate a disease, you need to influence the causes of its development - this is the basic rule of quality therapy for any pathology. In the case of anacid gastritis, everything is more complicated, since it has not yet been possible to identify the causative agents. Nevertheless, treatment must be carried out, and doctors have their own considerations on this matter.
Faced with this disease, gastroenterologists act as follows:
- Symptomatic therapy is carried out.
- Antibacterial agents are prescribed.
- Medicines are prescribed to stimulate the production of hydrochloric acid.
To cure anacid gastritis, the following drugs can be selected for treatment:
- enveloping action (“Almagel”, “Phosphalugel”);
- antispasmodics (“No-Shpa”, “Drotaverine”);
- enzyme preparations (“Pancreatin”, “Pepsin”);
- vitamin and mineral complexes, in particular those containing cyanocobalamine (B12).
If the results of the analysis revealed the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, additional antibiotics are prescribed, for example Amoxicillin or Metronidazole. But only a doctor can prescribe any medications.
The disease responds well to treatment with folk remedies. The most commonly used infusions are prune infusion, fresh plantain juice and various herbal infusions.
It is important that a specialist prescribe a treatment plan, since inadequate medication use will not only not give the desired effect, but can also adversely affect the patient’s health.
Phytotherapy
Oddly enough, it is with this pathology that medicinal herbs help. Tinctures can be made from St. John's wort, plantain and nettle.
To improve your appetite, use fresh cabbage juice. After thoroughly grinding the leaf, the juice is squeezed out and consumed before each meal, approximately 150 ml.
It is also recommended to use sea buckthorn oil, which contains bioantioxidants that reduce the toxic effects of aggressive substances that the stomach cannot digest. It promotes additional protection of the mucous membrane, relieves inflammation and accelerates the healing of wounds and ulcers. The number of bacteria decreases. In this case, you can drink 1 teaspoon, at least 3 times a day. To achieve results, take the oil for at least 4 weeks in a row.
Recommendations for proper nutrition
It is easy to guess that the disease anacid gastritis is much easier to cure if you follow a certain diet. Proper nutrition in general is a panacea for almost all diseases, and even more so those related to the gastrointestinal tract. It is worth paying attention to these recommendations:
- give up fatty, fried and rough foods;
- cook with vegetable or ghee;
- eat every day at the same time and at least 5 times a day, but in small portions;
- if you want a vegetable salad, it is better to boil half of the vegetables and leave the other fresh, because this way the dish will not be too rough, but at the same time it will stimulate the production of digestive juice.
It is recommended to include lean meats such as chicken breast and turkey fillet in your diet. You can prepare cereal or pasta as a side dish, and the bread should be yesterday’s bread at the time of consumption. It is useful to eat fruits and berries, drink milk, herbal infusions, fruit drinks and compotes. For example, you can study treatment table No. 2 according to Pevzner.
Drug treatment
Gastritis is a rather complex disease, its treatment is difficult, especially since at the moment the causative agents of the disease have not been identified. But only in the early stages is it possible to restore the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.
As with all diseases, the effectiveness of treatment directly depends on the stage of the pathology. Drug treatment consists of eliminating symptoms, taking medications, following a diet and regimen, and completely abstaining from alcohol.
If gastritis is not of an atrophic form, then it is incurable, and stimulants for the production of gastric juice or a substitute that increases acidity are prescribed. Medicines for pain relief and normalization of digestion are also recommended. In some cases, the patient is prescribed vitamins B12 and iron supplements.
It is not recommended to take enzyme preparations without a doctor’s prescription; they can aggravate the situation, after which the restoration and functionality of the gastric mucosa will be impossible.
If the system is not capable of independent functioning, then the patient is prescribed replacement therapy. These are antibiotics that help remove gastrointestinal infections, drugs that restore intestinal motility, and various types of vitamins.
