1. Take the Tummy Trouble Quiz
2. Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures
3. Heartburn? Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow

Medical Author:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Medical Editor:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

Gastritis is associated with various medications, medical and surgical conditions, physical stresses, social habits, chemicals, and infections. Some of the more common causes of gastritis are listed here.

Medications (only the most common medications are listed)

• Aspirin (more than 300 drug products contain some form of aspirin)
• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, such as ibuprofen or naproxen)
• Prescription steroids (for example, prednisone
• Potassium supplements
• Iron tablets
• Cancer chemotherapy medications

Swallowing chemicals or objects

• Corrosives (acid or lye)
• Swallowed foreign bodies (paper clips or pins)

Medical and surgical conditions

• People who are critically ill or injured develop gastritis.
• After medical procedures (such as endoscopy, in which a specialist looks into the stomach with a small lighted tube)
• After an operation to remove a part of the stomach
• After radiation treatment for cancer
• Autoimmune diseases
• Pernicious anemia
• Chronic vomiting

Infections

• Tuberculosis
• Syphilis
• Bacterial infections: H pylori infection is the most common. Many other bacteria-even those that usually cause pneumonia or bladder infection can cause gastritis.
• Viral infections
• Fungal (yeast) infections
• Parasites and worms

Other Causes

• Stress
• Alcohol consumption
• Smoking

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