Abdominal bloating, nausea, and regular abdominal pain, what is your stomach telling you?

Authors: Dai Qihua, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Lu Ting, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Zhang Yeqian, Renji Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Painting: Zhang Wenxun Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

Reviewer: Qin Jun, deputy chief physician of Renji Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine

A young man in his twenties was diagnosed with erosive gastritis. When the doctor told him the diagnosis, he thought it was just a common stomach disease that could be cured by taking some medicine prescribed by the hospital. But now that he had received such a diagnosis, he couldn't help but get nervous. Erosion? Gastritis? When he heard these two words, he suddenly felt unsure.

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The gastroenterologist saw that the patient was hesitant to speak, and his mouth opened and closed several times but no words came out. There was anxiety in his eyes. The doctor finally spoke: "Young man, you only have irregular abdominal pain now. If you don't cooperate with the treatment and control your diet, then..."

"What will happen if I don't control my diet?" The patient asked the question before the doctor could finish speaking.

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In fact, erosive gastritis is indeed a common stomach disease, but common does not mean it is not serious. The young man's gastric mucosa has already been eroded, and congested erosions can be seen under the endoscope.

Of course, the epithelial cells of the gastric mucosa have never stopped "self-renewal", which means that it has a strong repair ability. Therefore, it has also become an excuse and capital for contemporary young people to "fix" their gastrointestinal tract.

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"Lüshi Chunqiu" records that "If you drain the pond to fish, you will get something, but there will be no fish next year." The patient's examination results showed that the degree of stomach lesions was still shallow and could be repaired by changing lifestyle and taking medicine. However, if it is not taken seriously, it may develop into gastric ulcer in the long run.

"Gastric ulcer!" As soon as the doctor finished speaking, a series of questions emerged in the patient's mind, "Is it serious? What will happen? What are the symptoms? What should I do?" he asked quickly.

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The doctor then patiently explained: "When you have a gastric ulcer, the pain still occurs in the upper and middle abdomen. Although this pain is not as sharp as a stabbing pain, the dull pain or bloating pain is also uncomfortable, and is usually accompanied by a burning sensation. Compared with the pain caused by gastritis, this pain is more annoying, more persistent, and occurs periodically. Another characteristic of gastric ulcer is the relationship between pain and eating. The pain will come 'uninvited' half an hour to an hour after a meal, and the pain will disappear when you eat next time. If the pain always occurs when you are hungry, it may be a duodenal bulb ulcer. Of course, if the pattern of post-meal pain suddenly disappears one day, don't be too happy too soon. You need to determine whether the ulcer has further deteriorated. Severe gastric ulcers can even develop into cancer."

"In short, the abdominal pain caused by gastric ulcer is regular!" the patient concluded.

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The doctor nodded in agreement and continued, "As for other symptoms, it may be that you have no appetite at mealtime, feel nauseous after eating a few bites, and suddenly feel a sour feeling going up your throat when you open potato chips late at night, and you may even want to vomit. In addition, there are symptoms such as bloating and belching. Each of the above symptoms may appear in your life, everywhere. Perhaps a detail that you ignore is actually a hidden warning of the disease."

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"As for what you are most concerned about, how can you avoid this disease?" The doctor continued, "In fact, the answer is very simple, that is, eat at regular times and in fixed quantities, eat easily digestible and nutritious food, avoid spicy, overly salty, greasy and irritating food, and when your symptoms improve, you can occasionally satisfy your cravings, but try to eat as little as possible. Buy a fried dough stick for breakfast? A fried chicken for lunch? A spicy hot pot for supper? You can't live like this anymore. As for tobacco and alcohol, don't touch them if you can. When symptoms of gastric ulcer occur, you should also eat less milk and overly sour fruits. Make porridge, noodles, apples, and bananas your 'daily meals', chew your meals slowly, and eat small meals frequently. If the gastric ulcer is bleeding, you can only eat cold liquid food."

"In addition, staying up late for a long time, excessive stress and other mental stress states can easily damage the gastric mucosa, so we should pay attention to emotional relief and develop a healthy and regular lifestyle."

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"The most important point is," the old doctor's expression became serious, "once you realize that you are feeling unwell or have suspicious symptoms, you must come to the hospital in time for treatment. Do not blindly take painkillers, otherwise it may mask your condition and delay diagnosis and treatment. Although gastric disease does not occur overnight, when symptoms appear, it means that it has progressed to a certain extent, and many damages to the body are irreversible. The best strategy is to make up for it as soon as possible."

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Gastric ulcer patients generally use acid-suppressing drugs combined with drugs to repair the gastric mucosa for drug treatment. The patients must follow the doctor's instructions when taking the medicine, and the time and dosage should not be messed up. If the ulcer is intractable and unresponsive to treatment or there is heavy bleeding, surgical treatment is required.

Under the doctor's careful education, the patient actively sought treatment, controlled his diet, gave up spicy food and alcohol, and also shared knowledge about the prevention and treatment of gastric ulcers with other friends. Let's all nourish our stomachs and maintain our health together!

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