Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) also know as acid reflux is a
chronic disease that causes burning pain in the throat and chest or
commonly known as heartburn. This happens when the contents in your
stomach travels back to the esophagus. The malfunction of the muscle at
the bottom of the esophagus is one of the reasons why acid reflux
occurs. Frequent heartburn is the main symptom of GERD and this
condition can be really disturbing so it is important to know how to put an end to acid reflux to free yourself from painful heartburn and other symptoms.
Chronic GERD if left untreated may cause serious complications like
inflammation or bleeding of the esophagus. You need to see your doctor
if you are experiencing frequent acid reflux and heartburn. Here are
some helpful tips if you want to put an end to acid reflux.
Medications. Your doctor may prescribe medicines to relieve acid
reflux and heartburn symptoms. Antacids are the common medication to
stop GERD but medications could have side effects like diarrhea or
constipation so be sure to talk to your doctor about it. Your doctor may
also prescribe H2RAs or Histamine type 2 receptor antagonists and PPI
or proton pump inhibitors. Some medicines maybe taken only as needed but
there are prescribed medicines that should be taken everyday for weeks
or it may last for years. Follow your doctor’s advice if you want to put
an end to your acid reflux.
Lifestyle change. Although you are taking medicines, you also have to
evaluate if your current lifestyle is helping your health or making
your condition worse. Most of the time we are unhealthy or we become
sick because of the unhealthy practices we have. A lifestyle change is
necessary if you want to put an end to acid reflux. Stop smoking and
drinking alcohol. Lose weight if you are on the heavy side. Eat small
frequent meals and chew your food slowly and thoroughly. Do not go to
bed 3 hours after meal or as much as possible take small walks after
eating to stimulate your digestive system but avoid exercise after
meals. Avoid wearing tight clothes instead wear lose-fitting clothes.
Elevate your head when you sleep but this cannot be accomplished by just
using extra pillows, you need to elevate the head of your bed by
placing 6-8 inches wood blocks under your bed posts.
Diet modification. If you have GERD, diet modification is important if you want to put an end to acid reflux.
There are foods that aggravate GERD so you must avoid them. Common
foods that worsen the symptoms of acid reflux include chocolates, citrus
fruits, spicy foods, garlic, onions, fatty foods, caffeine, alcoholic
drinks, soft drinks, junk foods, processed foods and tomato-based foods
like spaghetti, ketchup, pizza and sauces. Taking away those foods on
your diet maybe difficult in the beginning but if you really want to put an end to acid reflux and avoid frequent heartburn, modifying your diet is very important.
Medical procedures. When medicines and lifestyle change failed to manage GERD, surgery is the last option to put an end to acid reflux.
A standard surgical procedure for acid reflux is fundoplication. The
surgical procedure can also be done with the use of laparoscope, a tiny
tube with camera that is inserted through a small incision in the
abdomen. Recovery time is less for surgery with laparoscope than a
surgery with large cut on the abdomen. Although not a surgery,
endoscopic treatment is another medical procedure to put an end to acid reflux.
With endoscopic treatments, no incision or cuts are made in the
abdomen but an instrument called endoscope is inserted through the mouth
down to the esophagus to perform the treatment.
As we all know any surgery has side effects so surgery should be the
last option. It is important to explore all possible solutions before
making a decision to go under the knife. Do you want to know how to deal
with acid reflux and heartburn using natural methods? To know how visit
Heartburn No More
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