First aid for gastritis at home: features and recommendations

Recognize the enemy by sight

Knowing about your illness, it is easier to take action. Gastritis has two main types: chronic and acute. Moreover, in both cases, for the time being, sometimes, it does not manifest itself in any way. And then he immediately announces his presence with a painful attack. A painful contraction in the stomach area sometimes simply “bends” the patient in half. You can guess that these are manifestations of gastritis based on several signs. All such attacks have common provoking moments, natural prerequisites:

occur after eating spicy, fatty, fried, smoked foods;
against the background of stress, lack of sleep;
due to internal inflammatory processes in the mouth, intestines,
after drinking alcohol or smoking a cigarette;
begins with heartburn, sour belching, heaviness in the stomach;
with upset stool, bloating, urge to vomit;
sensations of a lump in the throat, burning sensation in the esophagus and stomach.

Even when one or two points from this list correspond to the situation, most likely this is the same unknown gastritis. We must do everything in our power to quickly extinguish the acute condition.

Cause of pain

The cause of the attack of pain is associated with inflammatory processes in the stomach. Inflammation of the walls of an organ occurs in every person, but not everyone reacts to it as a serious disease. Most people ignore heartburn or nausea, which leads to chronic illness over time. There are no pain receptors on the mucous membrane, so the symptom develops when the process affects the muscle layer. The localization of the symptom extends to the left hypochondrium, where most of the organ is located. The intensity of pain directly depends on the course of the attack and cramping movements in the muscle layer of the organ. In some cases, gastritis is also associated with stretching of the esophagus, which causes a feeling of heaviness after eating. And with chronic gastritis, the digestion process is disrupted due to stomach fullness and impaired absorption of food, which causes aching and dull pain.

Important information: What is catarrhal gastritis and how to treat it

External factors can provoke an attack, such as diet, poor diet, poor quality foods, and poor chewing of food.

Alcoholic drinks and smoking aggravate the process.

Many drugs irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa: salicylates, anti-tuberculosis drugs and anti-inflammatory drugs. Unfavorable conditions in the workplace associated with chemicals and stress are also provocateurs.

Internal factors accelerate the development of the disease: decreased hemoglobin, the presence of chronic diseases, endocrinological diseases, metabolic disorders, problems with the kidneys and cardiac activity. All these factors combine to weaken the immune system, and the body is easily exposed to bacterial attack. It is the bacterium Helicobacter pylori that most often causes inflammation of the stomach.

Help yourself

In most cases, you cannot do without an ambulance. The best thing is to call an ambulance immediately, without hoping for chance. Especially if you noticed bloody discharge in your vomit or had black stool the day before. But until the ambulance arrives and relieves the attack of gastritis, you need to know how to relieve the pain yourself. What to do:

Lie on your side with your knees bent. This will relieve tension in the abdominal muscles and the pain will subside slightly.
Take No-shpa (pain reliever), Rennie (neutralizes hydrochloric acid, relieves heartburn), Festal or Mezim Forte (improves digestion).
Drink two to three glasses of warm water.
You can put a cold pack on your stomach until the doctors arrive.

Even if there are no tablets at hand, an attack of gastritis at home can be stopped by simply drinking water and inducing vomiting. And then you need to lie on your side, bending your knees, pulling them to your chest. And wait for help.

Attention! No-shpu can replace Riabal, Papaverine, Baralgin. If there is no Rennie, Gastal, Phosphalugel, Almagel have the same effect. Stomach acidity can be extinguished by Gastrofarm, Omeprozole, Cytotec.

Relevance of the problem

In gastroenterology, gastritis remains one of the most pressing problems today, accounting for more than 80% of the morbidity structure. The main focus is on the chronic form with episodes of exacerbation requiring emergency care. It is the acute development of symptoms that becomes the main reason for patients to consult a doctor, the main reason for which is inflammation. The prolonged course of the disease, if the indicated therapy and diet are not followed, gradually leads to persistent morphological disorders (atrophy).

Unfortunately, in the majority of patients who come to the doctor, FGDS (fibrogastroduodenoscopy) already reveals signs of a long-term disease against the background of an exacerbation.

Thus, acute gastritis can be understood as inflammation that occurs for various reasons, which mainly affects the gastric mucosa, causing pain, vomiting and indigestion.

It is now generally accepted that the changes are not limited only to this area, affecting the initial parts of the duodenum (gastroduodenitis).

Unpleasant symptoms can suddenly disrupt the quality of life of a person of any age. In this case, as a rule, it is quite difficult to establish a single causally significant factor. A special group of patients consists of children and adolescents who necessarily require qualified and timely emergency care.

What not to do

When providing first aid to yourself or your loved ones, you need to clearly understand what to do during an attack of gastritis, and what absolutely cannot be done. It's worth remembering this:

You can’t be too self-confident, put off calling an ambulance, hoping that everything will go away on its own;
Do not apply heat to the stomach;
you cannot smoke or drink alcohol;
you should not eat during an attack;
You cannot self-medicate.

Attacks of gastritis with advanced pathology will recur and last longer.
The best thing to do is to undergo treatment under the supervision of an experienced doctor. Attention! If you notice bloody discharge in the vomit, the stool turns black, dizziness, cramping pain, increased body temperature appear - all this may indicate the presence of an “acute abdomen”, a condition that requires immediate surgical intervention. Call an ambulance immediately.

Symptoms

Weakness and fever, pain in the stomach area may indicate an attack of gastritis

If a patient has an attack of gastritis, the symptoms may be as follows:

Acute pain.
Feeling of heaviness.
Belching.
Nausea.
An attack of vomiting bile or mucus is possible.
Vomit with an unpleasant odor.
The stool may be frequent and its consistency may be mushy or liquid.
Possible increase in temperature.
Weakness.
Chills and fever.

If symptoms worsen over the course of several hours, you should call an ambulance. If symptoms are severe, doctors may hospitalize the patient. If an attack of gastritis is associated with chemical poisoning, medical attention should be provided immediately, as there is a high probability of damage to the stomach or esophagus. If the attack is associated with acute purulent gastritis, there is a high probability of developing peritonitis, sepsis, and abscesses that require surgical intervention.

This is how they were treated in the old days

Inflammatory processes in the gastric mucosa have, of course, existed since time immemorial, but there were no pills like there are now. People knew how to relieve pain during attacks of gastritis. For this purpose, various decoctions of herbs and vegetables were used. If the stomach hurt, then the patient was given a decoction of rice, a potato decoction, herbal tinctures, boiled mint and made a drink. Classic - honey with milk. A spoonful of honey was placed in a glass of warm milk. Drink it warm. The pain went away.

It was believed that an ordinary leaf of the Kalanchoe flower quickly relieves pain. The healers advised to tear off a leaf from the plant, chew it thoroughly and swallow it. The advice is probably good for adults, since the taste of the leaf is not very pleasant. Calendula jam could be called a tasty medicine. Just a few spoons a day, and stomach pain goes away. And they cooked it like this: pour half a liter of regular hot water over as many calendula flowers as possible and leave to steep for a day. And then strain the infusion, add about a kilogram of sugar or replace it with honey. Cook this on low heat for about an hour.

Signs of acute gastritis

Acute and exacerbation of gastritis differ only in the intensity of the manifestation of the same symptoms. The cause of acute gastritis is a strong, immediate irritation of the gastric mucosa. It proceeds on the principle of poisoning with acid, alkali, chemical reagent, poison, or drug overdose. The onset of manifestation is immediate after an aggressive irritant enters the gastric tract or several hours after it is damaged.

Let us repeat that the symptoms of acute gastritis and exacerbation are very similar. To these are added intestinal manifestations: bloating, colic, flatulence, diarrhea. When exacerbated, they are associated with impaired digestion of food in the stomach, in acute gastritis with poisoning.

Acute gastritis may never recur with timely effective treatment. Exacerbation is part of the chronic constant course of inflammation.

Customs on food

If you have already had an attack of gastritis at least once, what should you do to prevent it from happening again? The answer is obvious: treat the underlying disease under the supervision of your attending physician. And one more thing: since you happen to get gastritis, then throughout your life you need to tune in to an individual approach to nutrition. This is difficult in family life. But this diet is good for all family members. The healthier the food, the lower the risk of getting sick. What to avoid:

From fried fatty meat and fish. Any dish cooked over a fire, baked in the oven, or steamed is no less tasty. And simply boiled. There is no need to take fatty pieces for this.
From smoked meats, pickles, marinades. It's sad because there's nothing to replace it with. You just have to change your taste habits, giving preference to fresh meat and fish dishes, stewed vegetables.
From too cold or, on the contrary, hot food and drinks. This is not difficult, and the taste is most harmonious when the dish is warm or at room temperature. The same okroshka or watermelon are good when they haven’t been in the refrigerator yet.
From alcohol. For some people, even a few grams of alcohol is a direct path to an acute attack of gastritis. There are other pleasant drinks, the same mineral water. You should also be careful with juices; too sour ones will not work.

Overeating is also dangerous, and it is not for nothing that the Bible considers it a sin. Fractional nutrition at the rate of 200-250 grams per serving will prevent the occurrence of an attack of gastritis and will not force a sick, inflamed stomach to work for wear.

Causes of attack

Eating spicy food will sooner or later lead the body to gastritis
The most important factor that provokes an attack is poor nutrition or irregular eating patterns. A person who suffers from gastritis must chew food thoroughly and eat up to 3 times a day in small portions. It is necessary to avoid consuming marinades, carbonated water, and very fatty and spicy foods.
Constant snacking and fast food can also trigger an attack.
An attack can be triggered by frequent fasting or, conversely, constant overeating. A person with gastritis should get up from the table after eating with a slight feeling of hunger.
In 70% of cases, an attack can be triggered by the use of mustard, pepper, or vinegar.
In 50% of cases, severe pain can begin due to regular consumption of strong coffee.
Smoking a pack of cigarettes a day.
Alcohol abuse.
Frequent use of salicylates, antibiotics, bromides.
An attack can be triggered by infections or E. coli.
Poisoning with alkalis, acids.
Strong blows to the stomach or intense physical activity.
Some types of fruits: lemon, orange, plum.
Constant stress, depression, insomnia, and overwork have a negative impact on the organ.

No panic

Perhaps the most important thing is not to panic when an attack of gastritis finds a person at home, on the road, at a time when there is no one around to help. Despite the unpredictability of gastritis itself, it can still be treated, which means that the attacks will be over. Even with a chronic form of the pathology, attacks can be “negotiated.” Knowing how to relieve an attack of gastritis, it is quite possible to cope with the problem on your own. You should always have pills in your home medicine cabinet to provide first aid to yourself and a means of communication to call an ambulance for help.

Help with gastritis at home

It is necessary to treat this disease immediately, especially during an exacerbation, otherwise the person will have to be hospitalized. According to doctors, gastritis, which is in the chronic stage, cannot be cured. But it is possible to fight during an exacerbation in the fall and spring. It is necessary to take medications prescribed by your doctor.

First aid for gastritis is, first of all, the use of pain-relieving tablets. To get rid of the acute form of gastritis, you need to consult a specialist in time, who can prescribe antibiotics and other medications necessary for treatment. If, when a person develops gastritis, the doctor identifies increased acidity, additional drugs are prescribed to reduce it.

Symptoms of exacerbation of gastritis

Exacerbation of gastritis occurs exclusively in a chronic form. The reasons are increased exposure to bacteria, gluttony, cigarette abuse, consumption of carbonated drinks, and stress.

The main symptom is severe abdominal pain, acute or nagging. Depending on the duration of the pain, it can be short-term, constant, or long-lasting. As a rule, pain appears 15 minutes after eating and remains for two hours. The exacerbation itself can last from several days to several weeks, depending on the success of treatment and the characteristics of the body.

Exacerbation of chronic gastritis is characterized by nausea, vomiting, heartburn, stool changes, flatulence, weight loss, and general weakness. Sometimes the temperature rises.

Signs of exacerbation manifest themselves purely individually; pain and nausea can occur either on an empty stomach or after eating. Some symptoms may be absent.

If the patient does not want to be treated, the pain will intensify and develop into attacks. It is important to choose the appropriate treatment in time, taking into account the individual characteristics of the body.