Stomach ache: what to do
How to avoid seasonal exacerbation of pain in the stomach, what is the competent prevention of gastritis and is it possible to get rid of it completely?

Gastritis: why seasonal exacerbations happen

“Stomach hurts something” – approximately these words are among the ten most common health complaints in all languages ​​of the world. Gastritis and its complications poison the lives of about a billion people on our planet. Irrational nutrition, stress, poor ecology – all these “general” factors, of course, affect the development of stomach problems (as, indeed, the development of any chronic systemic diseases).

But scientists have found the true cause of gastritis: according to modern international data, the most common cause of gastritis in the world is the Helicobacter pylori microbe. For confirmation of this “germ” theory, Australian scientists Barry Marshall and Robin Warren received the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology in 2005. As for Russia, according to various studies, the contamination of Helicobacter pylori in the population in different regions of our country is from 65% to 90%.

The microbe Helicobacter enters our body from the external environment and settles on the mucous membranes of the stomach. When bacteria multiply, damage to the mucosa, chronic foci of inflammation occur. Gastritis should not be taken as a “non-serious” disease. Back in 1994, the International Agency for Research on Cancer included Helicobacter pylori in the list of carcinogens of the first group. International studies show that Helicobacter pylori contamination increases the risk of oncological diseases of various organs of the gastrointestinal tract three times.

Gastritis has pronounced seasonal exacerbations, which occur in spring and autumn.

Gastroenterologists name several reasons for the seasonal dependence of this disease:

  1. Change in eating style. In early spring and late autumn, we eat more foods with preservatives, vinegar, high salt content (homemade winter preparations), only imported fruits and vegetables, with a lot of nitrates and chemicals. Such food enhances the inflammatory processes caused by Helicobacter pylori, the lesions of the mucous membrane increase, which leads to pain in the stomach.
  2. Sleep disturbance. In spring, the body is still weakened from “hibernation”, we do not get enough sleep. Lack of sleep indirectly (due to hormonal imbalance) also affects the condition of the gastric mucosa.
  3. Our digestive system is very closely connected with the nervous system, it is very sensitive to mood swings. It has long been known that early spring and late autumn are the time of exacerbation of mental reactions, the development of neuroses and seasonal depressions. So, the stomach is the most “stress-dependent” organ after the heart. The German psychiatrist Hans Glatzel deduced the dependence of the digestive system on fluctuations in emotions. Also, in an unstable situation, in a certain type of people, the concentration of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and the production of the gastric enzyme gastrin-17 (G-17) increase. If the situation drags on, mental stress does not find a way out, then the stomach suffers. Naturally, all seasonal troubles with the stomach only increase in the presence of Helicobacter pylori.

How to eat if your stomach hurts

The main symptoms of seasonal exacerbation of gastritis of the stomach:

  • Pain in the stomach.
  • Nauseous feeling after eating.
  • Bloating and heaviness in the abdomen, which are constantly pursued, even regardless of food intake.
  • Rapid satiety, intolerance to certain types of food (especially hard to digest food, such as meat or potatoes).
  • Pain in the stomach in the morning immediately after waking up – on an empty stomach. Or “hungry” pains during the day if you weren’t able to eat.

Here are a few rules on how to eat if your stomach hurts:

  • Exclude from the menu spicy additives that damage the mucous membranes – dishes with vinegar, hot sauces and seasonings (such as chili or wasabi), soy sauce (it has a lot of salt), mayonnaise-based sauces (mustard is included).
  • Avoid large amounts of sugar, its excess also has a bad effect on the mucous membrane, and sugar also serves as “food” for Helicobacter pylori.
  • During an exacerbation, you should not eat fresh vegetables, especially on an empty stomach (they irritate the gastric mucosa), boiled or steamed is better.
  • Refrain from fruit juices, they contain a lot of acids that are now unnecessary for the stomach, as well as sugar.
  • For a while, exclude legumes – beans, peas, chickpeas, as well as mushrooms in any form. This is a heavy food that causes bloating and takes a long time to digest.
  • With an exacerbation of gastritis, find the strength to completely abandon alcohol, at least for the duration of treatment. The fact that vodka or any alcohol tincture can cure gastritis is a dangerous myth. You can’t kill Helicobacter with ethanol, but damage to the mucosa can be even greater than before the “alcohol treatment”.
  • During the day, try to eat small meals 5-6 times a day every 3-4 hours, in small portions. Do not drink strong tea or coffee with food. Plain water at room temperature is best.
  • Do not eat too cold or too hot – both of them irritate the stomach.
  • But you need to understand that only the transition to a sparing diet will help temporarily relieve unpleasant symptoms, but will not relieve the cause of gastritis – Helicobacter pylori colonies.

Prevention of exacerbations of gastritis

Before drawing conclusions about the high efficiency in the treatment and prevention of gastritis by means based on lactobacilli, large-scale medical studies were carried out in different countries of the world.

One of the world’s leading gastroenterologists, Helicobacter pylori researcher Professor David Graham said: “A good Helicobacter is a dead Helicobacter.” Now experts are of the opinion that anti-Helicobacter therapy is always needed – both in the treatment of exacerbations of gastritis, including seasonal ones, and for prevention purposes. Therefore, if you have a stomach ache, consult a doctor who will select the therapy in accordance with your state of health. The treatment regimen includes antibacterial drugs (usually two) and proton pump inhibitors, which adversely affect the normal microflora of the gastrointestinal tract. And, as you know, the normal human microflora is not just a passenger in our body, it produces active metabolites, and it is these metabolites that are necessary for normal human life.

Also, to reduce the risk of seasonal exacerbations of gastritis, you should try to follow simple, but very important rules of everyday life. After all, the more the gastric mucosa is injured, the more freely Helicobacter will feel there.

Here are everyday risk factors for the stomach:

  • Smoking. Nicotine itself destroys the mucous membranes, so the cigarette is a reliable “partner” for Helicobacter pylori.
  • Excess alcohol. Ethanol corrodes the gastric mucosa, reduces the overall defenses of the body, and dulls the reactions of nerve receptors.
  • Irrational nutrition. Spicy foods, vinegar, some preservatives also worsen the condition of the mucous membranes.
  • Taking certain medications (for example, painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs, say, for headache or joint pain, anticoagulants (blood thinners). Getting straight on the mucous membrane, many injure it. So take the drugs prescribed for you that injure the gastric mucosa only after eating .
  • Lack of sleep, nocturnal lifestyle. The production of certain hormones is disrupted, which leads to an imbalance in many body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, and favorable conditions are created for the reproduction of Helicobacter pylori.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about stomach pain with gastroenterologist Ekaterina Zagrebina.

Why are stomach pains dangerous?

Pain in the stomach is manifested by discomfort or burning in the epigastric region (the area in the form of a triangle directly under the xiphoid process of the sternum, corresponding to the projection of the stomach on the anterior abdominal wall).

Any pain in the abdomen requires a visit to a doctor, as it indicates organic or functional damage to the internal organs. Most often, epigastric pain is not dangerous. Gastritis is characterized by pain in the epigastrium during fasting or on an empty stomach, decreasing or disappearing after eating. But there are more serious causes of epigastric pain:

● peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum;

● attack of biliary colic (cholelithiasis);

● abdominal form of myocardial infarction;

● diverticulitis of the small intestine;

● even acute appendicitis sometimes begins its clinical manifestations with pain in the epigastrium;

● other dangerous causes.

When to call a doctor at home if your stomach hurts?

You need to call an ambulance team if epigastric pain is combined with the following symptoms:

● persistent vomiting, vomiting of blood or “coffee grounds” (a sign of bleeding);

● black loose stools, especially in combination with weakness, palpitations, shortness of breath (a sign of bleeding);

● very intense “dagger” pain in the abdomen, especially in combination with high body temperature (may be due to irritation of the peritoneum, for example, with perforation of a stomach ulcer (breakthrough of an ulcer into the abdominal cavity);

● breathing problems, shortness of breath (may be due to pathology of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems);

● yellowing of the skin, skin itching (with an attack of biliary colic, due to a violation of the outflow of bile due to blockage of the bile duct by a stone or bile clot).

If there are no “anxiety symptoms” described above, then if pain occurs in the epigastrium, you should consult a general practitioner or gastroenterologist.

What to drink so that the stomach stops hurting?

You can independently begin to follow dietary recommendations (table number 1 according to Pevzner). As a rule, in such cases, antacids are prescribed. It is forbidden to take painkillers and antipyretics (including aspirin and its protected forms), since these drugs cause exacerbations of gastritis and peptic ulcers and can potentiate bleeding from erosions and ulcers.

Taking other drugs before visiting a doctor is undesirable, since when using them, it is impossible to conduct a study on the Helicobacter bacterium (a bacterium that lives in the stomach, causes erosion and ulcers, and increases the risk of developing stomach cancer), which is important in a number of clinical situations.

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