Gastritis means inflammation of the stomach lining. Together with functional dyspepsia, which is recurrent upper abdominal discomfort with a normal stomach on testing, it accounts for most of what people call stomach trouble. Peptic ulcers and stomach tumours are covered on their own pages.
Most gastritis is caused by Helicobacter pylori infection or by anti-inflammatory painkillers, and both are treatable. The purpose of investigation is to find those causes and to exclude ulcers and cancer in people with warning features.
Symptoms
- Burning or gnawing discomfort in the upper middle abdomen
- Feeling full soon after starting a meal
- Bloating, belching and nausea
- Discomfort that is better or worse with food
- Loss of appetite
- Tiredness from iron or vitamin B12 deficiency in long-standing gastritis
- Often no symptoms at all
Causes and risk factors
Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium acquired mostly in childhood, infects about half the world's population and causes chronic gastritis, ulcers and a raised risk of stomach cancer. Aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen and similar painkillers damage the lining directly. Heavy alcohol, bile reflux, severe illness and, less often, an autoimmune attack on the acid-producing cells, which leads to B12 deficiency, are other causes. Functional dyspepsia has no visible inflammation and relates to stomach sensitivity and emptying. Smoking and stress aggravate symptoms.
How it is diagnosed
- Helicobacter pylori testing: A urea breath test or stool antigen test, done after 2 weeks off proton pump inhibitors and 4 weeks off antibiotics. Used first in younger people without alarm features.
- Upper endoscopy with biopsies: For people over about 50 to 55 with new symptoms, or anyone with weight loss, vomiting, difficulty swallowing, anaemia or bleeding. Biopsies grade the gastritis and look for precancerous change.
- Blood tests: Blood count, iron and vitamin B12, with antibodies for autoimmune gastritis when B12 is low.
- Abdominal ultrasound: Checks the gallbladder and pancreas when the pain pattern is not clearly from the stomach.
Treatment options
- Helicobacter eradication: A 10 to 14 day course of a proton pump inhibitor with two or three antibiotics, sometimes with bismuth. Success is confirmed with a repeat breath or stool test at least 4 weeks later.
- Stopping or protecting against painkillers: Switching away from anti-inflammatory drugs where possible, or taking a proton pump inhibitor alongside.
- Acid suppression: A 4 to 8 week course of a proton pump inhibitor or H2 blocker to let the lining heal.
- Treatment of functional dyspepsia: Smaller meals, acid suppression, prokinetic drugs, or low-dose amitriptyline. Reassurance after a normal endoscopy is itself helpful.
- Vitamin B12 and iron replacement: For autoimmune or long-standing atrophic gastritis, with surveillance endoscopy in selected patients.
When it is urgent
Go to an emergency department locally if you vomit blood or dark material resembling coffee grounds, pass black tarry stools, develop sudden severe abdominal pain with a rigid abdomen, or feel faint with a racing pulse. Upper abdominal pain with sweating, breathlessness or pain in the arm or jaw may be the heart, so call emergency services.
Travelling to Türkiye for treatment
Stomach symptoms are normally handled by your own doctor with a breath test and a course of tablets. If you are visiting for a check-up, or symptoms have continued despite treatment, an endoscopy with biopsies under sedation takes about 15 minutes and results follow in a few days. The antibiotic course and the confirmation test afterwards can then be completed at home.
Send your reports, scans and a short history and a Clinic-Y coordinator replies within 24 hours with suitable teams and written, all-inclusive proposals side by side. Reviewing your case is free.
الأسئلة المتكررة
Does stress cause gastritis?
Everyday stress does not inflame the stomach, although it heightens symptoms of functional dyspepsia. True stress gastritis occurs in critically ill patients in intensive care.
Should everyone with Helicobacter be treated?
Current guidelines advise treating it whenever it is found, because clearing it heals gastritis, prevents ulcers and lowers stomach cancer risk.
Do I need to avoid spicy food and coffee?
They do not cause gastritis. Avoid them only if they clearly worsen your own symptoms. Alcohol and anti-inflammatory painkillers matter far more.
Can gastritis turn into cancer?
Long-standing Helicobacter or autoimmune gastritis can lead to thinning and intestinal-type change in the lining, which carries a small cancer risk. Eradication and, in selected people, surveillance address this.