Most peole know what heartburn is or they at least know someone who experiences heartburn, but many of them don't know what happens in your body when you suffer from acid reflux problem.
Heartburn is where your body causes the contents of the stomach to flow back up into the esophagus. The valve that controls this action is known as the lower esophageal sphincter or the LES. Heartburn happens when the LES is relaxed and the acids from the stomach reflux into the esophagus and irritate the delicate lining of the esophagus. There are many ways to treat heartburn.
How can you treat heartburn?
Because heartburn is caused by certain conditions and foods avoiding those facotrs can help you to find relief from heartburn pain. There are different hearburn rules concerning food:
- don't eat large amounts of food
- don't eat before you go to sleep
- avoid citrus fruits and juices
- avoid spicy and seasoned foods
- don't eat raw onions and vinegar
- don't drink daffeine laden drinks like coffee, decaffeinated coffee and colas (although there is a special heartburn coffee available)
- don't go for teas and alcohol
If you stick to all these heartburn rules concerning food this will help a lot to reduce your heartburn problems.
There are lifestyle habits as well that can impact your acid reflux condition. There are also some rules to follow conerning lifestyle and habits:
- don't lift heavy items after you have had a meal as the pressure on your stomach might cause acids to reflux into the esophagus
- avoide stressful situations as they can influence heartburn
Other conditions that can increase the risk of heartburn include pregnancy, obesity, taking certain kinds of medication, GERD or hital hernia.
Using heartburn medication
Luckily there are also medical ways in which you can fight your heartburn problem apart from lifestyle and dieatary changes. You can take different over the counter antacids like Pepcid AC, Tagamet, Zantac and even Prilosec. Antacids are used because they have the chemical ingredients to neutralize the acid buildup in the stomach.
The use of a foaming antacid like Gaviscon can also be very helpful to treat heartburn. As Gaviscon floats on the top of the stomach contents, when acid reflux occurs it is the first substance to come into contact with the esophagus.
Other types of medication that help to control and treat the symptoms of heartburn are acid reducers or acid blockers. These medications are part of a class of drugs called Histamine receptor blockers and they are available in over the counter and prescription strengths forms. They work by reducing the amount of acid in the stomach.
When these acid reducers can no longer control or treat heartburn then you should consider using Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPI's. Most PPI's are available only by a prescription from your doctor, and work by shutting down the acid production within your stomach.
You see that you have a variety of choices when it comes to treating your heartburn problem. You can change your lifestyle, your eating habits or fight acid reflux with the help of different drugs. Now it is your turn to find out what type of heartburn treatment works for you.