Pain from gastritis and endoscope

Dear Ask The Doctor: My 16 Year old daughter has been suffering with stomach pain. Dr did endoscopy, showed gastritis. And put her on bland diet and proposed. She is still have pain especially after she eats something, even if it's plain rIce. She has lost close to 30 pounds in the last 3 weeks. Dr sys it should clear up soon and she can resume normal diet. All she eats is rice, oatmeal and toast. Shouldn't she have some anti boitics by now or something?

Dear Dawn: I do understand your concern for your daughter's health. Acute gastritis covers a broad spectrum of entities and is difficult to diagnose. There could be a number of causes of acute gastritis : drugs, bacterial, viral or fungal infections, acute stress and food allergy all may cause gastritis.

There is no specific treatment for gastritis. Usually antacids, H2 blockers and proton pump inhibitors are the first line drugs given in the treatment of gastritis. Since the symptoms of pain have not resolved even with medication, I would suggest that you consult your daughter's doctor on the benefits of antibiotic treatment.

H. pylori is the most common cause of gastritis. Eradication of the infection improves symptoms including dyspepsia, gastritis and peptic ulcers. Diagnosis of infection is usually made with a blood antibody test or a rapid urease test.