Treatment depends on the specific cause. Some of the causes will disappear over time.

You may need to stop taking aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, or other medicines that may be causing gastritis, but only after you talk with your health care provider.

You may use other over-the-counter and prescription drugs that decrease the amount of acid in the stomach, such as:

• Antacids
• H2 antagonists: famotidine (Pepsid), cimetidine (Tagamet), ranitidine (Zantac), and nizatidine (Axid)
• Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) -- omeprazole (Prilosec), esomeprazole (Nexium), iansoprazole (Prevacid), rabeprazole (AcipHex), and pantoprazole (Protonix)

Antacids may be used to treat chronic gastritis caused by infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria.

The outlook depends on the cause, but is usually good.

Blood loss and increased risk of gastric cancer are possible complications.

Call for an appointment with your health care provider if you develop:

• Pain in the upper part of the belly or abdomen that does not go away
• Black or tarry stools
• Vomiting blood or coffee-ground-like material

Images

Stomach and stomach lining

Review Date: 01/31/2011
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; George F Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)