Heartburn: What you need to know!
- Dietitian.Lauren Hmede
- Mar 26, 2019
- 4 min read
Heartburn Begins With a Bite
In normal cases and upon food ingestion, the food passes safely throughout the esophagus into the stomach when acids are responsible for breaking it down. In the case of heartburn a faulty valve between stomach and esophagus will cause reflux of stomach's acid into the esophagus causing heartburn sensation.
Not everyone with acid reflux suffers from heartburn, and some people with "heartburn" symptoms don't actually have acid reflux but may have some other condition causing this pain.
GERD (Acid Reflux) Symptoms
The main symptom of acid reflux is a painful burning sensation in the middle of the chest and it occurs after meals consumption, lasts for several hours and get worse after lying down or bending.
Other symptoms of severe acid reflux include a sour-tasting fluid in the back of the throat, difficulty swallowing, or feeling that food is stuck in the chest or throat.
A chronic cough or asthma attacks can also be caused by acid reflux.
Symptoms of heartburn are needed to diagnose the acid reflux.
Heartburn: Who’s at Risk?
Anyone can be at risk of heartburn and many lifestyle factors could affect the sphincter between esophagus and stomach.
Mainly people who are overweight, consume large meals, people who smoke and who wear tight-fitting clothes are prone to heartburn.
Is it GERD?
In general heartburn dont pose serious health complications but this could happen when there is a severe, frequent, and persistent acid reflux.
GERD is a condition that may developped if you have two or more times per week severe heartburn amd it needs treatment as it can lead to serious complications.
Without treatment you may develop inflammation, ulcers, and scarring.
GERD can also lead to changes in the cells lining the esophagus. Known as Barrett's esophagus (shown here), these changes raise the risk of esophageal cancer.
Nighttime Heartburn
Night-time acid reflux happen if you wake up with a sore throat, cough or bitter taste in the mouth.
It lead to disrupted sleep and raises the risk of esophageal damage.
That's because lying down leaves stomach acid in the esophagus longer. And as we sleep, we swallow less acid-neutralizing saliva than when awake.
Managing Heartburn at Home
You can make some small changes at your home to manage heartburn like eating small meals, avoid late night snack and have your last meal 3-4 hours before going to the bed.
Watch What You Eat
Some foods are known to contribute to heartburn by bringing additional acid into the stomach or by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter. Stay away from food that may give you problems. Your symptoms may improve if you avoid tomatoes, onions, garlic, chocolate, peppermint, fatty foods, and citrus fruits, including oranges and grapefruit. If you find spicy foods are a trigger, try milder versions rather than giving up your favorite foods altogether.
Watch What You Drink
Certain beverages can also bring on heartburn. These include coffee, tea, sodas, alcohol, tomato juice, and orange juice. However, unless these are causing you acid reflux symptoms, you don't have to avoid them.
Change Your Exercise Routine
Some types of exercises increase the risk of heartburn rather than allowing normal passage of the food.
Headstands and inverted yoga poses, such as downward dog, are good examples.
Abdominal crunches can be a problem, because the motion may thrust stomach acids into the esophagus.
Raise the Head of Your Bed
If you have nighttime heartburn, try placing blocks under the legs of your bed to raise the head about 6 inches, or sleep with your upper body on a wedge pillow.
This strategy uses gravity to keep stomach acids where they belong. (Avoid raising your head with piles of pillows. This bends your body in a way that can aggravate heartburn.)
For some, reflux also happens less frequently when lying on your left side rather than your right.
Wear Loose-Fitting Clothes
Losing extra weight and wearing loose-fitting clothes may lower abdominal pressure.
Heartburn During Pregnancy
More than half of pregnant women have heartburn and this is due to hormonal changes which increases abodminal presusre and increase acid reflux.
If it is mild, preganant woman needs to eat small frequent meals and avoid fries and spicy food.
If it is severe and lifestly echanges dont relieve symptoms, then prengant women needs to consult her doctor to prescribe some medications.
Heartburn Remedies: Antacids
For occasional heartburn, take something that works immediately, like a liquid antacid. Just like the name suggests, an antacid neutralizes stomach acid. This provides temporary relief from heartburn, and is emptied from the stomach quickly.
You need to follow the instructions as high doses ay worsen your health.
In case of prolonged heartburn, antacids wont help you.
Heartburn Remedies: H2 Blockers
They are available as over the counter medications.They work by lowering acid production ansd can help if they are taken 30 minutes before meals. This can help prevent heartburn from acid reflux if taken about 30 minutes before meals. More powerful doses are available in prescription form.
Acid Blockers: Proton Pump Inhibitors
they work by blocking stomach aicd production. They are more effective at decreasing acid production than H2 blockers. They are available over the counter.
Which Heartburn Medication to Take?
The heartburn treatment that's best for you depends on many things. How often does heartburn happen? How bad is it? Do you want fast relief or prevention? Antacids offer fast relief for mild heartburn. H2 blockers can stop the burn before it starts, but only if you know when to take them, and they may take longer to work. Proton pump inhibitors can tackle really stubborn heartburn. Your doctor can help you pick the treatment that's right for you.
Sources:
https://thingshealth.com/15-heartburn-trigger-foods-control-acid-reflux/
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