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Paracetamol: How Much Is Safe, and the Liver Risk
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Gastritis
Pronounced gas-TRY-tis
Also known as Stomach inflammation, Maiday ki sozish
Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach lining, causing burning or gnawing pain in the upper abdomen, nausea, bloating and early fullness. The two commonest causes are Helicobacter pylori infection and regular use of painkillers from the NSAID group.
The stomach makes acid strong enough to digest meat, and protects itself with a layer of mucus and bicarbonate. Gastritis is what happens when that defence is breached — the lining becomes inflamed, and if the damage goes deeper it becomes an ulcer. The distinction between the two is made by looking, not by the severity of the symptoms, which overlap almost completely.
What causes it
- Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that colonises the stomach lining. It is very common in Pakistan, is acquired in childhood through contaminated food and water, and can be found by a breath test, a stool antigen test or a . Eradicating it cures the gastritis rather than suppressing it.
- painkillers — ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, aspirin — which block the prostaglandins that maintain the protective layer. This is the most avoidable cause on the list.
- Alcohol, tobacco and very spicy or acidic food, the last of which irritates an already inflamed lining rather than causing the inflammation itself.
- Severe illness, burns or major surgery, which cause stress-related gastritis in hospital.
Treatment reduces acid while the lining heals, usually with a proton pump inhibitor such as omeprazole taken half an hour before food, together with removing the cause — testing for and eradicating H. pylori, and stopping the painkiller wherever possible. Long-term acid suppression without ever asking why the stomach is inflamed is the common mistake here, and it hides rather than solves the problem.
Where this comes up
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Related terms
- RefluxAcid reflux, GORDReflux is stomach acid escaping upward into the food pipe, causing burning behind the breastbone and an acid taste. Occasional reflux is common; when it happens regularly it is treated as a condition in its own right.
- NSAIDNon-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, Anti-inflammatory painkillerNSAIDs are painkillers that also reduce inflammation and fever — ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen and aspirin among them. They work well but carry real risks to the stomach, the kidneys and the heart.
- EndoscopyGastroscopy, Upper GI endoscopyAn endoscopy is an examination of the inside of the body with a thin flexible tube carrying a camera and a light. The commonest kind passes through the mouth to look at the food pipe, stomach and the first part of the small intestine.
- InflammationSwelling, SozishInflammation is the body's response to injury or infection: blood flow increases, fluid and immune cells arrive, and the area becomes red, warm, swollen and painful. It is a repair process, and it becomes a problem only when it persists.