Symptoms of acute gastritis

The main symptoms that appear as a result of acute gastritis

• Nausea – this symptom is among the first to appear. This feeling can range from mild to unbearable depending on the cause of the acute gastritis. Nausea is often followed by vomiting.
• Loss of appetite – naturally, due to nausea, any thought of food only increases this feeling.
• Vomiting – in mild cases the patient may vomit just a couple of times, while in severe cases the vomiting continues nonstop, with the patient being unable to control it.
• Heaviness and pain in the epigastric region–the pain can occur both because of the spasm and due to damage and erosion of the gastric mucosa under the influence of the substance that was ingested.
• Weakness and dizziness – this symptom usually occurs due to intoxication cause either by the toxins produced by the bacteria, or by toxins that occur as a result of necrosis of gastric mucosa and deeper layers under the influence of corrosive substances that the person ingested. It can also be caused by the loss of blood.

Symptoms that could be a sign of a life-threatening condition

• Vomiting blood – which can be red if the bleeding is severe or look like ground coffee if the blood has time to be oxidized by the stomach acid.
• Severe abdominal pain – could be caused by perforation of the stomach’s wall and the spilling out of gastric content into the abdominal cavity.
• Sudden bloody stool – the color of the stool is usually tarry or black, since the blood is being oxidized within the digestive tract. Very rarely it can be red in color if the bleeding is very severe.
• Very high fever – is a sign of severe intoxication which could also be indicative of peritonitis.
• Muscle spasm of the abdominal wall – this is a very serious symptom which can indicate that the wall of the stomach was perforated and the peritonitis began. In such cases the hardness of the abdominal wall is often compared to a wooden board.