Bile Gastritis Facts

Gastritis is physical discomfort caused by inflammation of the stomach lining. Common symptoms of gastritis are: vomiting, nausea and upper abdominal pains. Bile gastritis or bile reflux gastritis, medically termed as alkaline reflux gastritis is a variation of gastritis, which causes similar symptoms as other variations of gastritis and requires immediate medical attention.

Bile is a fluid produced in the liver that assists the digestive process in the small intestines. When bile flows upward into the stomach and esophagus it causes inflammations in the stomach as well as the esophagus. If not properly treated bile gastritis may cause esophageal cancer. Bile reflux is often accompanied by acid reflux. This intensifies the severity of inflammations. Unlike normal cases of gastritis, which can effectively be contained by controlled dietary patterns, bile gastritis usually requires medicinal treatments and in the most extreme cases, surgery.

Symptoms of bile gastritis are severe pains in the upper abdominal area, heartburn, frequent nausea, vomiting bile, cough or hoarseness and abnormal weight loss. Repercussions of this form of gastritis, as mentioned before affect both the stomach as well as the esophagus. Bile influx into the stomach occurs when the valve connecting the small intestines and the stomach does not close properly after food enters the intestines. Bile further influxes into the esophagus along with stomach acids if the lower esophageal sphincter malfunctions. Bile influxes as these are caused by gastric surgery complications, peptic ulcers and gallbladder surgery. This is because surgical procedures and inflammations may damage the soft muscle tissues in these valves, thus impeding their normal functioning.

Diagnostic procedures used for bile gastritis include endoscopy, ambulatory acid tests and esophageal impedance. Acid tests identifies the intensity and the duration of acid/bile influxes into the esophagus. Esophageal impedance measures the gas or liquid influxes into the esophagus. Treatments for bile gastritis are twofold: medicinal and surgical. Administering Ursodeoxycholic acid and proton pump inhibitors are medication used to contain symptoms such as heartburn and abdominal pains. Surgical treatments for bile gastritis have proven to be more successful than medication. Preventing bile gastritis involve very simple steps that can be practiced with ease on a regular basis. Losing weight reduces the pressure on stomach thus minimizing heartburn and acid influx. Sleeping in an inclined angle helps minimize influx symptoms. During stressed periods digestion slows down, thus worsening the influx symptoms. Relaxing techniques like breathing and meditation help reduce physical discomforts caused by bile influx.

By Daily Health Tips