Gastritis

Gastritis is inflammation (irritation) of your stomach lining. It can come and go quickly (acute) or last a long time (chronic) depending on the cause.

The Stomach

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• Gastritis may be caused by infection, stress, or medicine

• You might have pain or discomfort in your belly area, feel sick to your stomach, or throw up blood

• Doctors may need to look into your stomach with a flexible viewing tube

• Doctors will give you medicine to lower the amount of acid in your stomach

Common causes of gastritis include:

• Drinking alcohol or other harsh substances that hurt your stomach lining

• Infection, most commonly with bacteria called Helicobacter pylori

• Stress, including stress from serious injury or illness

Gastritis may not cause symptoms.

If you do have symptoms, they can include:

• Pain or discomfort in your belly, usually in the upper middle part

• Feeling sick to your stomach or throwing up

If gastritis causes stomach bleeding, you may:

• Throw up blood or dark material that looks like coffee grounds

• Pass dark black stool (poop)

Doctors can often tell if you have gastritis based on your symptoms. Tests usually aren't needed.

Sometimes, doctors may:

• Look in your stomach with an endoscope (a flexible viewing tube)

• Do a biopsy (take a sample of your stomach lining to look at under a microscope)

Doctors treat symptoms with medicines, such as:

• Antacids, which neutralize the acid in your stomach and are available without a doctor's prescription

• Acid-reducing medicines, which cause your stomach to make less acid

• Antibiotics, if your gastritis is from infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria