Gastritis Treatment in Homeopathy

Gastritis is an inflammation, irritation or erosion of the stomach mucosa. Gastritis is not one disease but a group of conditions, which are characterized by inflammation of the lining of the stomach. Gastritis can broadly be divided into acute gastritis and chronic gastritis.

Types of Gastritis:

Acute Gastritis:

Acute gastritis is a sudden inflammation of the lining of the stomach. Acute gastritis is a term covering a Broad Spectrum of entities that include inflammatory changes in the gastric mucosa. Inflammation of the whole stomach is called PANGASTRITIS and inflammation of a part of the stomach is called ANTRAL GASTRITIS.
Acute gastritis can divided into:

1. Erosive
2. Non-erosive

Causes include medications, alcohol, eating or drinking corrosive substances, extreme physiological stress, and infections. Acute gastritis is often associated with severe, acute illness, or trauma. The risk factors include nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug use (NSAIDs), recent heavy alcohol use, and physiological stress such as major surgery, head trauma, renal failure, liver failure, or respiratory failure.

Chronic Gastritis:

Chronic gastritis is an inflammation of the lining of the stomach that occurs gradually and persists for a prolonged time. Chronic gastritis may be caused by prolonged irritation from the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), infection with the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, pernicious anemia (an autoimmune disorder), degeneration of the lining of the stomach from age, or chronic bile reflux.

Causes:

• Bacterial infection
• Bile reflux disease
• Pernicious anemia
• Autoimmune Gastritis
• Regular use of pain relievers
• Stress
• Alcohol addiction
• Cocaine
• Radiation and chemotherapy
• Other factors

Signs and Symptoms

A gnawing or burning ache or pain in the upper abdomen that may become either worse or better after eating.
• Loss of appetite.
• A feeling of fullness in the upper abdomen after eating
• Weight loss.
• Belching either does not relieve the pain or relieves it only briefly.
• Nausea and vomiting
• bleeding may occur inside the stomach
• Pallor, sweating, and rapid (or “racing”) heartbeat.
• Feeling faint or short of breath
• Chest pain or severe stomach pain
• Vomiting large amounts of blood
• Bloody bowel movements or dark, sticky, very foul-smelling bowel movements

Diagnosis:

• Blood tests
• Stool tests. To check H. pylori presence in a sample of stool.
• Upper gastrointestinal X-ray. After swallowing barium liquid
• Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
• On taking X-ray.

General management:

• Eating habits.
• Avoid alcohol.
• Don’t smoke.
• Switch pain relievers.
• Follow the doctor’s advice.
• Maintain a healthy weight.
• Exercise regularly
• Manage stress.

Homeopathic Treatment of Gastritis

Homeopathy is one of the most popular holistic systems of medicine. The selection of homeopathic medicine for gastritis is based upon the theory of individualization
• Nux Vomica
• Lycopodium
• Phosphorus
• Arsenic album
• Veratrum album
• Bryonia alba
• Belladonna
• Graphites
• Carbo vegetabilis 
• Argentium Nitricum
• Mercurius
• Kali bichromicum
• China officinalis
• Sulphur
• Kali carbonicum
• Pulsatilla
• Aconite

Antim crude 

Homeopathic medicine for gastric complaints from overeating; bread and pastry; acids or vinegar; sour or bad wine; after cold bathing; overheating and hot weather; thick milky white coating on the tongue; gastric affections with nausea distended feeling in the abdomen, though is flat. Vomiting is frequent and constant. The patient brings up large quantities of food eaten in a sort of half-digested acid state. Incessant belching tasting of ingesta. Constant discharge of flatus up and down.

Abis can 

Homeopathic medicine for gastric affections caused by abuse of tea or tobacco, dyspeptic troubles especially of the aged with functional heart symptoms; total loss of appetite in the morning, but great craving for food at noon and night; eructation with offensive breath; pain in stomach always after eating; sensation of lump; as if hard-boiled egg logged in the cardiac end of the stomach; continual distressing constriction in the pit of the stomach, as if everything was knotted up.

Nux Vom:-

Heartburn with flatulence. Homeopathic medicine for gastritis has nausea and vomiting in the morning. He feels “If I could only vomit I would be so much better”. Alternating constipation and diarrhea. Eructations sour, bitter; nausea and vomiting every morning with depression of spirits, after eating. Heartburn. Drinking milk seems to cause acidity. Hunger, but if he eats ever so little, he is satisfied and feels quite full. Repeated, violent vomiting of sour mucus with a headache or with blood. Nux vomica is mostly indicated in the case of chronic gastritis which is caused by tobacco, alcoholic stimulants, aromatic or patent medicines, sedentary habits, highly spiced food. Contractive, squeezing stomachache.

Lycopodium

It has pain in the pit of the stomach when the hypochondria is pressed and pain in hypochondria when the pit of the stomach is pressed. Homeopathic medicine for gastritis has fullness even after a light meal, with no intestinal irritation. Offensive discharges. Eructation ameliorates gastric troubles. Bitter taste in the mouth at night, sour vomiting. A grand characteristic of Lycopodium is, “The patient goes to meals with a vigorous appetite, but after eating a small quantity of food he feels so full and bloated that he has to force himself to swallow another mouthful; and he leaves the table with his hunger, only momentarily satisfied.”

Phosphorus

Gastritis with chronic erosion. Burning, gnawing circumscribed pain. The all gone, weak feeling at 11 a.m. starting from stomach to bowel. Craves for cold food and cold drinks which give relief temporarily, but are vomited as soon as they become warm in stomach. Very useful remedy in the vomiting of chronic dyspepsia.

Arsenic Album

Foul, bitter or sour taste. Burning pain in stomach like fire, as if hot coals were applied to part, better by hot application, hot drinks. Acrid and bitter eructation. Irritative dyspepsia and acute inflammation. Nausea, retching and vomiting of slimy mucus tingled with blood. Trembling and coldness of extremities with pain in stomach and oppressive anxiety.

Veratrum album

Hiccups after hot drinks. Forcible eructations, mostly of air. After eating, empty eructation of air. After frequent eructation, copious ejection of mucus. Constant sick eructation with very violent cough. Voracious hunger, great thirst. Vomiting is –
: Slimy acid liquids with food froth.
: Yellowish green or white mucus.
: With black bile and blood.
Colicky pain with salivation, profuse cold perspiration.

Bryonia Alba

Is best adapted to persons of gouty or rheumatic diathesis. Great thirst for large quantities at long intervals. Pressure as from stone at pit of the stomach, relieved by eructation. Stool large, hard, dark, and dry, as if burnt. Diarrhea during a spell of hot weather; bilious, acrid with soreness of anus; like dirty water; of undigested food; from cold drinks when overheated, from fruit or sour foods aggravated in morning, on moving, even a hand or foot and ameliorated by absolute rest. Aggravation from any motion, and corresponding relief from absolute rest, either mental or physical. Pains: stitching, tearing, worse at night.

Belladonna

Abdominal pain in short attacks causes the redness of the face and eyes. Abdomen tender, distended; aggravated by least jar. Loss of appetite with a desire to drink without thirst. Eructation and vertigo. Nausea and inclination to vomit. Violent stomachache after a meal. Bilious vomiting.

Graphites

Homeopathic medicine for gastritis has distention of stomach and bowel, obliged to loosen clothing. Gastralgia. burning, crampy, colicky pain in the stomach, ameliorated after eating. Cramps in the epigastrium and putrid eructation. Sweets nauseate and disgust, hot drinks disagree. Aversion to meat. Flatus rancid or putrid.

Carbo vegetabilis 

Violent burning in the stomach, with paroxysmal cramps which force the patient to double up; with flatulence. Putrid variety of dyspepsia. Slow digestion; feels as if a weight in the stomach, which is not relieved by eating; but after a few mouthfuls there is a sense of fullness. Eructations are rancid, putrid or sour.

Argentum Nitricum

Violent belching and great relief from it. Pain is gnawing, ulcerative, referred to the pit of the stomach. Vomiting of glairy mucus, which can be drawn into strings. Longing for sugar which aggravates the complaints. Pain in the spot radiates in every direction.

Mercurious solubilis

It has deathly faintness at the pit of the stomach. Profuse saliva in the mouth. Stool hot, scanty, bloody, slimy, and offensive, with terrible cutting, colicky pains. Useful in painful acute inflammation. Tenesmus, not relieved by stool. A never get done feeling in the rectum.

Kali bichromicum

Gastric complaints from bad effects of beer. Loss of appetite. Weight in the pit of the stomach. Flatulence aggravated soon after eating. Vomiting of ropy mucus and blood; a round ulcer in the stomach. Can not digest meat.

China officinalis

Homeopathic medicine for gastritis best suited to weak patients having low vital power. The sensation of satiety after a few mouthfuls of food. Sour, bitter eructations; flatus is offensive. Slow digestion and patient faints easily. There is a sensation as if the food had lodged in the oesophagus. In cases where the food does not digest, but lies a long time in the stomach, causing eructations and finally is vomited out undigested.

Sulphur

Burning in the stomach. Gastritis caused by chronic alcoholism. When carefully selected remedies fail to produce favorable effects, especially in acute diseases, it frequently serves to rouse the reactive powers of the system. Weak, empty, gone or faint feeling in the stomach about 11.a.m. and can not wait for lunch. Congestion of abdomen. Stool acrid excoriating. It follows Aconite well. Sour eructation all day. Long heartburn. Belching up of a portion of the food that had been eaten. In the morning inclination to vomit. Morning nausea. Bulked eructation on going to sleep.

Kali carbonicum

It is indicated where the system is broken by long term bacterial infection, pernicious anemia, hazards of radiation and chemotherapy. Putrid belching, dyspepsia with sleepiness. Before eating, there is a faint sinking feeling in the epigastrium out of proportion to the feeling of vacuity caused by hunger, with sour eructation, heartburn and with peculiar weak nervous sensation. The desire for sugar and sweet.

Pulsatilla

Adapted to persons of indecisive, slow, phlegmatic temperament; sandy hair, blue eyes, pale face, easily moved to laughter or tears. All gone sensation in the stomach. Great dryness of the mouth. Diminished taste of all food. In the morning sour eructation, in the evening bilious eructation, in the night bitter eructation. Intolerable nausea; short and bilious vomiting. The inclination to vomit with grumbling and rumbling in the subcostal region. Flatulent colic. Stool mingled with little blood. Pinching pain in epigastrium. Thirstlessness with nearly all complaints. Gastric difficulties from eating rich food, cake, pastry, especially after pork or sausage; the sight or even the thought of pork causes disgust; “bad taste” in the morning.

Aconite

Aconite is indicated in acute gastritis condition. Empty eructation, ineffectual effort to eructate. Nausea and vomiting with profuse perspiration, swollen, distended abdomen. Complaints are with mental anxiety accompanied by restlessness. Pains are intolerable, they drive him crazy.