Oftentimes heartburn feels like food
is coming back up from the stomach or
gets stuck part of the way. Heartburn,
as its name implies will feel like a
burning sensation in the upper part of
your stomach. Many times the activity
will leave behind a bitter or acidic
taste in your mouth. The burning
sensation can last for a few minutes or
few hours. Almost everyone is afflicted
with heartburn at some point in their
life; particularly after overeating or
eating spicy foods. However, if your
discomfort or stomach pain is:
prolonged, chronic, you notice blood in
your stool, weight loss for no apparent
reason, problems swallowing, or
vomiting, see your physician as soon as
possible.
What are the common causes of
heartburn?
In its simplest form heartburn is a
plumbing or backflow problem. There is a
valve between the stomach and your
esophagus that keeps food from the
stomach from working its way back into
the esophagus (throat) malfunctions and
allows this to happen. The problem is
that the contents of the stomach have
acids from the stomach in it and these
acids will cause irritation and pain
associated with heartburn. Heartburn is
the manifestation or symptom of
conditions such as gastro esophageal
reflux disease (GERD). Another is peptic
ulcer disease which is a sore or even
hole that forms on the lining of the
stomach or small intestine. Occasional
heartburn is something that everyone
experiences at one time or another.
Chronic pain or heartburn is something
you should seek consultation from your
physician for.
What can make my heartburn worse?
Your diet preferences play a big part
in the level and frequency of your
heartburn. Spicy, greasy, fatty foods,
overeating, coffee, and alcohol can
trigger the backup from the stomach and
set off symptoms of heartburn. Also,
gravity itself can play a part in the
backflow problem. For instance, if you
lie down after eating, the horizontal
position of your body can actually make
it easier for the food from your stomach
to backflow back into your esophagus. If
you do lie down shortly after eating try
elevating your head. In other words, try
keeping the gravitational flow toward
your stomach. As you've probably heard,
stress and smoking can even aggravate
your symptoms of heartburn.
What can I do to improve my
heartburn?
More
often than not the most controllable
behavior that your can implement to
improve symptoms of heartburn is your
diet. Avoid those foods that trigger
your heartburn such as; spicy foods,
chocolate, coffee, alcohol, fatty foods,
fried or greasy foods, citrus, mints,
even carbonated beverages. Also, eating
smaller portioned meals will help. As
rule of thumb, eating smaller portions
more often is better than overeating at
any time. Avoid eating right before
going to bed. If you smoke... stop. And do
what you can do to eliminate stress.
What is acid
reflux disease?
The
term Acid reflux refers to a backflow
problem from the stomach to the
esophagus. Food substance that come from
the stomach contain acids that the
esophagus is not designed to handle and
they can eventually do damage to the
lining of the esophagus. Most everyone
experiences some level of Acid Reflux
from time to time. Periodic occurrences
are generally referred to as heartburn
and are accompanied by a ‘burning'
sensation at the top of the stomach
area. Acid Reflux disease is the
condition when there is enough frequency
and severity of this backflow problem
that it impacts a person's life and/or
does indeed damage the esophagus.
Is this a new
disease?
Acid
Reflux has been around since as long as
heartburn, but has indeed become a more
widely used term over the past few
years. Also known as GERD, Acid Reflux
has become the term of choice because it
accurately describes what is physically
happening within the stomach and the
esophagus.
What are some
symptoms?
First
and foremost is heartburn. Experiencing
regurgitation of acidic or bitter
contents into your mouth is also a
symptom that can also include difficulty
with swallowing or even painful.
What's the
difference between and Acid Reflux
disease heartburn?
Acid
Reflux is a disease with heartburn as
the most common symptom. Frequent
heartburn that disrupts lifestyle and
risks damage to the esophagus generally
defines Acid Reflux as the disease. Your
doctor should make the determination.
What makes Acid
Reflux disease symptoms worse?
Food
and beverages stimulate the stomach to
produce digestive acids that can
backflow (reflux) into the esophagus.
Lying down right after eating can make
your refluxing worse because you'll lose
the assistance of gravity in keeping
your natural stomach acids down.
Does spicy food
cause acid reflux disease or worsen acid
reflux?
Spicy
foods or otherwise do not cause Acid
Reflux, but they do seem to aggravate
the symptoms in many people. All meals
stimulate the production of natural
stomach acids and increase the
opportunity for some to reflux into the
esophagus. Spicy foods are often times
implicated in worsening the symptoms of
Acid Reflux. For some people this may be
the case, or it may not. Every patient
has different reactions to different
influencing factors. If working within
your diet helps, that's great. If you've
tried very specific and even restrictive
diets without positive results, you
should seek medical advice on handling
the disease.
What is the
relationship between smoking and Acid
Reflux?
Smoking itself doesn't cause Acid
Reflux. In fact, there is hardly any
evidence that would suggest that it even
worsens the symptoms.
Can taking
other medications aggravate Acid Reflux?
They
certainly can. Any medication that would
affect the emptying the natural acids
from your stomach or that would promote
the production of stomach acids can
worsen your Acid Reflux. If you suspect
that you may be experiencing Acid Reflux
and you are taking medication for other
conditions, be sure to advise your
doctor of your symptoms and your
concerns.
If I suffer
from Acid Reflux, what should I avoid?
Knowing what certain foods (if any) seem
to aggravate the disease is helpful.
Also, try to avoid lying down after
eating a meal, wearing tight fitting
clothes, or even just bending over. Any
of these can present the opportunity for
your Acid Reflux to flare up.
Essentially, making notes of what seems
to trigger your reflux and then avoiding
them is not only helpful but your notes
or journal will also be very helpful for
your doctor as well.
Is there a cure
for Acid Reflux disease?
At
this time there is no cure for Acid
Reflux disease. In some cases it can be
directly related to a specific
aggravating factor and will leave when
these factors are removed. However, in
most cases Acid Reflux is chronic to
some degree. It can, however, be managed
effectively in most cases via lifestyle
and/or medications. In some sever cases,
surgery can become an option, but this
should be discussed thoroughly with your
physician.
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Constipation
What is
constipation?
Generally if a person has three or fewer
bowel movements in a week and when they
do the stools are hard and dry, they are
defined as constipated. Physically you
may feel sluggish and full and your
stools are difficult or even somewhat
painful to pass. Conversely, some people
are of the idea that they should
complete a bowel movement daily. This
isn't necessarily true because each
person's metabolism, diet, and lifestyle
is quite different. At one time or
another, every experiences constipation
for a brief time and it is not serious.
And there are easy steps you can take to
help prevent the onset.
What can I do
about constipation?
Most
all cases of constipation are related to
what a person eats, drinks, and how much
exercise or activity they get. The
following are some preventative measures
you can take against becoming
constipated:
More
fiber in your diet with fruits,
vegetables, and grains. Add more fiber
to your diet gradually so that your body
has a chance to become accustom to the
change. The other side of the equation
of adding more fiber to your diet is to
reduce the intake of foods that have
little or no fiber such as, dairy
products, most snacks, and processed
foods.
Drink
plenty of water and other fluids such as
fruit and vegetable juices. Liquid in
the body will help keep the stool softer
and easier to pass. Not all fluids are
good fluids – caffeine and alcohol tend
to dry your system.
Exercise – helps your body and your
digestive system. A good daily walk can
be a very good choice.
Pay
attention to your body. Don't bypass or
ignore urges to have a bowel movement
Laxatives – only if your doctor suggests
this is what you should do. Always
consult with your physician on these
matters, even with over the counter
medications. Especially if you are
currently taking other medications under
your doctor's advisement.
How does fiber
help in constipation?
Unlike
many foods, fiber is not directly
digested by the stomach. It passes on to
the large intestine where it will
actually draw moister into the
processing stool keeping it softer and
easier to move along and eventually
pass.
Do women suffer
from constipation more often than men?
Yes
they do. In fact, as much as three times
more. It's thought that because the
differences in the female reproductive
system and the hormones involved, the
muscular movements of a woman's colon
can be slowed down at various times
during their natural cycles.
[Top]
Crohn's Disease
What
is Crohn's Disease?
Crohns
Disease causes inflammation of the
digestive or gastrointestinal (GI)
tract. This disease can affect any part
of the entire digestive tract. Pain
resulting from the inflammation can
cause the intestines to empty frequently
resulting in diarrhea. Crohns Disease is
also called inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
IBD is a more general term for diseases
that cause the inflammations in the
intestines. Because of its similarity to
other digestive disorders such as
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and
Ulcerative Colitis, diagnosing Crohns
Disease can sometimes be difficult to
get a handle on.
What
causes Crohns Disease?
When
it comes to Crohns Disease, at this time
there are no proven direct causes.
Theories include family history or
genealogy, the immune system, and
environmental and/or a complex
combination of them. Patients with the
disease generally exhibit immune system
anomalies; however the difficulty in
diagnosis posed becomes; are the
anomalies the cause or the effect.
What
are the symptoms of Crohns Disease?
The
symptoms may vary from person to person
however, some of the most common are;
abdominal pain (feeling cramped),
frequent bowel movements (Diarrhea), and
even rectal bleeding.
What
are the complications of Crohns disease?
Because the disease swells or thickens
the intestinal wall (and even leave scar
tissue that builds up), this causes
blockage to occur. Beyond the blockage,
other complications can occur such as;
bowel peroration, formation abscesses,
fistulae, cancer of the bowel, and
intestinal hemorrhage.
How is
Crohns disease diagnosed?
Physical examination and testing. Blood
tests are done to check for anemia,
which could indicate bleeding in the
intestines. High white blood cell count
is a sign of inflammation or infection
in the body. Stool samples will also be
tested for the presence of blood. Your
doctor may do an upper gastrointestinal
(GI) to examine the small intestine. A
colonoscopy may also be done so your
doctor can visually inspect the large
intestine. By performing the
colonoscopy, your doctor will be able to
see any inflammation or bleeding. Also
your doctor may want to biopsy a sample
of the intestinal lining as well.
What
is the treatment for Crohns disease?
Symptoms and the severity of Crohns
disease of course vary from patient to
patient. Also treatments consideration
will also take into account any
complications or responses that occurred
during a previous treatment. Most
patients with Crohns disease experience
periodic activity and severity of the
symptoms. Medications are generally used
at this point to get the activity back
into remission. As to which treatments
are used will depend upon the location
and the severity level of the disease.
Advanced cases involving persistent
blockage, abscess, and fistulae may
require surgery.
Is
Crohns Disease caused by emotional
stress?
There
is no evidence to support stress,
tension or anxiety is responsible for
the disease. The mind and body
connection however, can be an
influencing factor in the course of this
or any disease.
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