Health in the Home

Southland Times, Issue 22041, 14 June 1933, Page 5

Health in the Home

CHRONIC GASTRITIS. (By a Family Doctor). Chronic gastritis is a condition that comes on gradually and persists; on occasion, however, it follows upon an -acute attack of gastritis. It gives rise to a sense of fullness and pressure in the abdomen coming on directly after meals. There may be pain between the shoulders, the appetite is poor, and occasionally an excessive amount of saliva is formed in the mouth. Chronic gastritis is to be distinguished from ulcer of the stomach: for in the latter the interval between a meal and the pain is longer, and, in addition, there are always periods of perhaps weeks in which all the symptoms disappear. Chronic gastritis may, as we have said, follow on an acute attack; but more commonly it develops insidiously. The drinking of excessive amounts of excessively strong tea or coffee, the consumption of highly-spiced foods, or of too much vinegar, and the too frequent indulgence in alcohol are, perhaps, the commonest causes. It must also be remembered that people with poor hearts are particularly subject to chronic gastritis, also people with kidney trouble, and elderly folk generally. Excessive smoking may be the cause. Chronic gastritis must be cured by discovering the cause of it. First of all, try cutting out altogether alcohol, then cut down the smoking, and finally stop taking such things as tea, coffee, vinegar, spices. If you improve, you may then cautiously try taking up these vices again! But do not henceforward indulge any to excess. If a chronic gastritis has followed an acute gastritis, the symptoms are sometimes due to insufficient acid in the stomach. If so, your doctor may try giving you an acid drink with meals. If the heart is at fault, rest will generally improve the gastritis.