Spice, Smoke, Stress, and Stubborn Germ (A closes look at gastritis)

Gastritis may not kill people by the millions. But it does disrupt a lot of serious study sessions, fun trips, fantastic parties, and yes, even a romantic moment or two..Learn more!

The Stomach
The stomach is the first stop in the process of food digestion. In its j-shapped cavity, the stomach churns the food into much smaller bits, using powerful grinding motions. The inner walls of the stomach, also called stomach lining, are bathed in about a gallon of stomach acid and digestive enzymes. These juices prepare the food for further absorption in the intestines.

Gastritis
Gastritis happens when the stomach lining is irrited (the same kind of effect that happens if you scratch your skin too long and too hard); inflamed (the same kind of thing that happens when a mosquito bites you; there's swelling, sensitivity to touch, a raise in temperature and redness); or infected (the way an open wound will get if you don't clean it immediately).

Symptoms
Usually, a person with gastritis will feel some cramps and pains in the middle or left upper belly, just under the ribs. Other symptoms include nausea and vomiting, bloating (the feeling that the stomach is full of gas) and belching. A wound in the stomach is called a gastriculcer and it causes more pain then ordinary gastritis. Blood may appear in vomit or stool, and this loss of blood may cause anemia, which will make the person feel weak, tired and dizzy. When there is an infection, there usually is a fever.

Causes
It used to be thought that the causes of gastritis are spicy food, alcohol, and lifestyle related factors like stress, along with long-term use of some painkillers and anti-inflammation drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen. But in the early eighties a bacterium called Helicobacter Pylori was found to be responsible for most cases of gastritis and gastric ulcer. These tricky bacteria are not killed by stomach acid because they live within the gel-like mucus membrane that protects the stomach from its own acid.