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Alcohol Gastritis: Understanding The Symptoms and Recovery

Medically reviewed by Dr. Po-Chang HsuJuly 1, 2024
Written by
On July 1, 2024

Table of Contents

Key Points

  • Alcohol-induced gastritis is the inflammation of your stomach lining due to binge or chronic heavy drinking.
  • Symptoms include indigestion, belching and hiccuping, stomach pain and bloating, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and stomach or ulcer bleeding.
  • With treatment and elimination of alcohol from your diet, alcohol-induced gastritis can be alleviated.

Understanding Alcohol-Induced Gastritis

Alcohol-induced gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach lining due to binge or chronic alcohol use. It’s a severe health condition that can get worse with time. The sooner alcohol consumption is stopped and treatment begins, the less damage the stomach lining will endure. The chances are also much higher for healing the stomach lining and making a full recovery.

What is Alcohol-Induced Gastritis?

Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach lining.[1] The lining (mucosa) protects your stomach from everyday exposure to acids, enzymes, and microorganisms. When your immune system identifies a threat to the stomach lining barrier, it triggers inflammation of the soft tissues to fight infection and boost healing. In the case of alcohol-induced gastritis, the gastritis is caused by drinking too much alcohol.

Types of Gastritis

There are several different types of gastritis, including [2]

  • Acute Gastritis: occurs suddenly and is temporary.
  • Chronic Gastritis: occurs slowly over a long period.
  • Erosive Gastritis: Gastritis causes the stomach lining to erode, which can lead to ulcers. This is typical if the gastritis is caused by a chemical, such as acid, bile, alcohol, or drugs.
  • Nonerosive Gastritis: does not cause eroding but instead a reddening and irritation of the stomach lining that can lead to thinning or wasting away of the stomach lining.

Causes of Gastritis

Based on the cause of the gastritis, it may go by a more specific name, including [3]

  • Infectious gastritis: Helicobacter pylori is one of the most common human bacterial infections. Some people who are infected with H. pylori develop gastritis due to sensitivity to the bacteria.
  • Drug-induced gastritis: Regular use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers (NSAIDs) can cause acute and chronic gastritis. NSAIDs include ibuprofen and naproxen sodium. Using NSAIDs regularly or taking too much of them can cause gastritis.
  • Alcohol-induced gastritis: Alcohol can irritate and damage the stomach lining, causing your stomach to be more exposed to stomach acid. The higher your alcohol intake, the more at risk you are to develop gastritis.
  • Stress-induced gastritis: Severe stress due to surgery, injury, burns, infections, or chronic lifestyle stress.
  • Autoimmune gastritis: Your body attacks the stomach lining cells, causing a thinning of the stomach’s lining barrier.

Other Causes

  • Older age: As people age, their stomach lining often thins, resulting in a greater risk for gastritis. Older adults also have a higher risk of infection and autoimmune disorders than younger people.
  • Cancer treatment: Chemotherapy and radiation increase one’s risk for gastritis.
  • Other health conditions: Certain health problems increase one’s risk for gastritis. These include Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, sarcoidosis, HIV/AIDS, and parasite infections.

Symptoms of Alcoholic Gastritis

Gastritis symptoms vary from person to person, with some not experiencing any symptoms. When symptoms appear, it usually means gastritis has reached a more severe level or has been happening for some time. Symptoms of gastritis include: [4]

  • Indigestion
  • Belching and hiccuping
  • Stomach pain and bloating
  • Loss of appetite
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
  • Stomach or ulcer bleeding: If this occurs, you may have blood in your vomit or stool

Gastritis shares many symptoms of other health conditions, highlighting the importance of talking to your healthcare provider to establish an accurate diagnosis.

How Does Alcohol Cause Gastritis?

Acute gastritis goes away after the cause of the gastritis is removed. For example, if you have overdosed on alcohol or drugs, the blood flow will temporarily be reduced to your stomach, and your stomach lining will be inflamed.[5] Once the alcohol or drugs are out of your system, the blood flow to your stomach is restored, then your stomach lining can begin to heal.

Chronic gastritis does not resolve on its own and requires treatment. Treatment will depend on the severity of gastritis and any underlying health conditions. Some chronic gastritis is curable, while others are not. If your chronic gastritis has caused severe damage to your stomach tissues, they may take longer to heal. If the damage is too great, it may be a lifelong condition.

Diagnosing Gastritis

Diagnosing gastritis is done by a healthcare provider completing a physical exam and gathering your health history. Based on your answers, they may suspect you have gastritis and may begin treatment. They may also request you complete medical tests to confirm the diagnosis. Gastritis tests include:[6]

  • Barium swallow: This test requires you to swallow barium fluid that coats your GI tract, and then a series of X-rays are taken to check your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum.
  • Upper endoscopy: This test requires an endoscope to be put down your throat. Using a camera, the provider looks at your esophagus, stomach, and duodenum. If they see anything of concern, they can also take a biopsy.
  • Blood tests: These tests are more likely to diagnose infections or other health conditions that may be caused by gastritis, such as anemia.
  • Stool sample: This test checks for stomach bacteria infections and can detect blood in your stool, which may indicate gastritis.

Treatment Options

Treatment options are dependent on the reasons you have gastritis.

If your gastritis is caused by an infection such as H. pylori, your medical provider will prescribe antibiotics to help your immune system fight the infection. Once the infection is eliminated, your body can heal your stomach lining.

If your gastritis is caused by alcohol, seek addiction treatment for alcohol use disorder to eliminate the cause and begin to allow your stomach to recover and repair. Suppose you have been drinking alcohol at the level of consumption that has resulted in you having gastritis. In that case, you should not stop drinking cold turkey and seek treatment to wean off alcohol and address your medical needs safely.

Medications that help treat gastritis include [7]

  • Medications that block acid production: Proton pump inhibitors block the parts of cells that produce acid, resulting in less acid in your stomach. Your doctor can prescribe proton pump inhibitors; some can be bought over the counter without a prescription. Examples of proton pump inhibitors are Prevacid, Prilosec, and Nexium.
  • Medications that reduce acid production: Acid blockers or histamine blockers lower the amount of acids released into your gastrointestinal tract. Reducing acid lowers gastritis abdominal pain and helps heal the stomach lining. Acid blockers can be purchased with or without a prescription. Examples of acid blockers are Tagamet, Pepcid, and Axid.
  • Medications that neutralize acid: Antacids neutralize existing stomach acids, providing rapid pain relief. While these medications provide immediate relief, they are not a long-term solution as they only provide temporary symptom relief. They also have side effects of constipation and diarrhea. Examples of antacids are Tums, Rolaids, Mylanta, and Pepto-Bismol.

Prevention Tips

There are no clear ways to prevent gastritis from happening. However, you can lower your risk of getting gastritis by:[8]

  • Not eating or drinking things that irritate your stomach. The most common items that inflame the stomach lining are alcohol, caffeine, spicy foods, and smoking.
  • Not taking medications such as aspirin and other over-the-counter pain relievers, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
  • Practicing good hygiene to prevent bacterial infections such as H. pylori.

Alcohol-Induced Gastritis Prognosis: Get The Recovery Help You Need

Acute gastritis tends to improve quickly with treatment, and medications can relieve symptoms and support the healing of the stomach lining. If you have alcohol-induced gastritis, recovery may require alcohol rehab and permanent lifestyle changes. Quitting or significantly reducing your alcohol use will be necessary to prevent your gastritis from returning.

Medical Content Writer

Amanda Stevens is a highly respected figure in the field of medical content writing, with a specific focus on eating disorders and addiction treatment. Amanda earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Purdue University, graduating Magna Cum Laude, which serves as a strong educational foundation for her contributions.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Alcohol-Induced Gastritis

Alcohol-induced gastritis can lead to severe health complications that may become life-threatening if left untreated, such as stomach ulcers and anemia.

Stomach damage from alcohol can be reversible if you seek treatment and stop drinking alcohol. If you have used alcohol for a long time, there may be long-term damage that you have caused that can not be repaired.

In the United States, acute gastritis impacts eight out of a thousand people yearly.[9] The most common reasons for gastritis are infections, alcohol use, and medication use. Chronic gastritis impacts two out of every ten thousand people in the United States yearly.

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[1,2,4,5,9] Cleveland Clinic (2023, July 14). Gastritis & what it means. Cleveland Clinic. Retrieved from https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/10349-gastritis on 2024, June 24

[3,7] Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. (2024, February 14). Gastritis. Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/gastritis/symptoms-causes/syc-20355807 on 2024, June 24.

[6,8] Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2024, February 16). Gastritis. Retrieved from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/gastritis on 2024, June 24.

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