How to treat heartburn: how to deal with the disease and cure the disease forever

Unpleasant symptoms, called heartburn, concern about 35% of the world's population. Most people don't even pay any attention to it, considering it a trifle. Therefore, they do not undergo full-fledged treatment, but only strive to extinguish the symptom itself.

Do not ignore heartburn, as it signals the presence of a serious disorder in the body. Especially if it does not arise from time to time, but becomes regular.

Heartburn is an unpleasant burning sensation in the epigastric region, esophagus.

Why does it appear

In order to know how to treat heartburn, you need to find out what factors contribute to its appearance. If we consider this phenomenon from a medical point of view, then it should be indicated that the burning sensation is the result of the action of acid on the esophageal mucosa.

Acid is contained in gastric juice, promotes the breakdown of food, its digestion. It shouldn't be in the esophagus. Where does it come from there? The reasons may vary.

First, let's determine the causes of recurrent heartburn:

• Improper diet: frequent use in the diet of fatty, sour, very salty foods, alcoholic beverages, coffee. Eating too much food at one time, fast food, quick snacks on the run.
• Stress, nervous strain.
• Mechanical compression of the stomach, especially after eating.
• Excess weight.
• Pregnancy.
• Taking a number of medications, for example, "Acetylsalicylic acid".

If heartburn is a constant companion of a person, the causes are more serious and require immediate examination. Constant heartburn shows a person the existence of a disease.

This could be:

• gastritis with an increase or decrease in acidity;
• peptic ulcer of the stomach or duodenum;
• reflux;
• cholecystitis or gallstone disease;
• tumors in the stomach;
• insufficient development of the food sphincter, which separates the stomach from the esophagus (this is a muscle ring, when food enters the esophagus, it relaxes and passes it into the stomach, after which it closes, the failure that occurred in its work, will not allow the esophagus to close from the release of the gastric juice;
• duodenitis or inflammation of the duodenal mucosa.

There can be a lot of reasons, the main thing to remember is that any of them indicates the presence of a serious disease or the possibility of its development in the future.

Emergency help

People did not begin to suffer from heartburn today, so they have already come up with many methods and means to get rid of it. Among them there are medicinal preparations developed by scientists, and there are those created by ordinary people, means of so-called traditional medicine.

For quick relief of heartburn, antacids, protein pump inhibitors are suitable.

Antacids neutralize the acid in the stomach and protect the walls of the esophagus from possible damage. True, the funds are quickly flushed out of the stomach, so they cannot be used for a long time. The most frequently used of them: "Fosfalugel", "Maalox", "Gaviskon".

Protein pump inhibitors stop acid production. Usually used in difficult cases. They do not act so quickly, but the effect of them is longer. Application is possible only as directed by a doctor. The drugs in this group include "Omez", "Omeprazole".

An old folk remedy for quick heartburn is regular baking soda. Soda reduces acidity, which means it can really quickly relieve heartburn. But, from interaction with acid, a violent reaction begins. As a result, carbon dioxide is released, irritating the walls of the stomach and intestines. A new attack of heartburn may be stronger than the previous one. Despite its great popularity, soda cannot be completely safe, reliable.

If there are no drugs at hand, you can do with simple actions: take an upright position, drink a glass of warm water, swallow saliva more often, an eaten apple (not sour) can help.

What is not recommended

When you experience heartburn, it is not recommended to use certain foods and drinks. For example, you cannot consume milk. The calcium and protein contained in it will significantly aggravate the manifestation of symptoms and increase discomfort.

Not recommended:

• use dubious advice from traditional healers;
• take medications without supervision from a specialist, especially several types at the same time;
• abuse smoking, alcohol;
• drink drinks that irritate the already irritated mucous membrane;
• self-medicate or ignore seizures.

To determine how to treat heartburn, it is necessary to undergo an examination to identify the root cause of this problem.

How to deal with heartburn with medicines and diet

Only after finding out the causes of heartburn, you can begin to fight it. Most likely, getting rid of the disease that causes heartburn will get rid of it.

Drug treatment

Most of the drugs sold in the pharmacy chain are dispensed without a doctor's prescription. For each of them there is a clear instruction in which everything related to this medicine is spelled out. Nevertheless, it will not be superfluous to undergo an examination and get a doctor's advice on how to deal with heartburn.

All modern medications for heartburn can be divided into several groups:

• Antacids.
• Inhibitors.
• Prokinetics.

The first two groups are described above. You just need to pay attention to the fact that antacids are most suitable for quickly getting rid of discomfort, and proton pump inhibitors are suitable for long-term therapy.

Prokinetics normalize the motor activity of the digestive system. Their use will be justified in the case of a decrease in gastric motility and stagnation of food masses in it. This group includes "Domperidone" and "Metoclopramide".

Food

Most often, heartburn is provoked by errors in nutrition. Therefore, it is necessary to treat it by correcting these errors.

When organizing food, you should pay attention to several fundamental points:

• It is better to eat in small portions. 5-6 once a day. Such meals contribute to the most uniform release of hydrochloric acid and the disappearance of unpleasant symptoms.
• Don't eat right before bed. The minimum gap between food and sleep should be at least 2 hours.
• You should limit or completely eliminate fatty, fried, spicy and sour foods.
• The best way of cooking, steaming or stewing. Alternatively, oven baking is possible.
• Exclude drinks and foods that irritate the stomach and esophagus mucosa: coffee, soda, citrus fruits, tomatoes.
• Be sure to observe the drinking regime. You need to drink at least 2 liters of liquid.
• In the morning, a few minutes before breakfast, it is advisable to eat a few tablespoons of oatmeal in the water. Oatmeal has an enveloping property and protects the mucous membrane from irritation.

Diet will play a primary role.

Drawing up a diet

How to deal with heartburn with diet? Some foods increase acid production, which means they should not be present in the diet. They should be replaced with healthy foods, i.e. those that will reduce the volume of acid.

What should not be on the table:

• Dairy. Everything, including yoghurts and ice cream. The only exception for lovers of dairy cuisine is skim milk, which is consumed without fanaticism.
• Citrus and any sour berries and fruits.
• Sugar and foods that contain sugar.
• Animal fats.
• Pickles and marinades.
• Fresh bakery.
• Hot spices.
• Chocolate and products containing it.
• Strong broths.

What can you eat than replace your usual and favorite dishes:

• In the first place, porridge cooked in water can be put. Oatmeal, buckwheat, rice porridge are especially good.
• Lean meat, fish, poultry.
• Vegetable oils.
• Vegetable juices and vegetables (carrots, potatoes, zucchini, cucumbers, beets).
• Any non-acidic fruits, especially bananas, apples.

How to cure heartburn forever with folk remedies and preventive measures

A person suffering from this problem needs to reconsider his entire regime of life and be sure to get the advice of a specialist. After treatment with traditional medicines, it is possible to use folk methods, since it is definitely difficult to cure heartburn forever.

Recipes

Traditional medicine offers a large number of all kinds of recipes for relieving heartburn symptoms. The most popular are herbal infusions.

Herbal infusions

• From calamus root: 100ml hot boiled water and 1/3 teaspoon of root. Boil well, insist and take before meals for a month.
• Chamomile: 3 teaspoons of chamomile chamomile pour boiling water (100 ml.), Leave for 20 minutes, take 3 times a day.
• Mint: mix 1 teaspoon of mint, wormwood and chamomile, pour boiling water, take 0.5 cups before meals 3 times a day.

It is important to remember that you should not abuse infusions, decoctions and other traditional medicine. The maximum admission period should not exceed 2 weeks. If during this time there is no improvement, you should consult a doctor.

In pregnant women

Pregnancy contributes to the development of heartburn, since a woman's hormonal background is seriously altered, which leads to dysfunction of various digestive organs. In addition, intragastric pressure increases, especially in the second half of pregnancy, when the fetus becomes large. It is almost impossible to get rid of the symptoms; you can smooth out the discomfort a little after consulting a doctor.

Prevention measures

To prevent heartburn, it is necessary to lead an active, healthy lifestyle and eat right. Spend more time outdoors, get positive emotions. For people prone to obesity, it is imperative to control weight.

You cannot give a universal recipe for how to cure heartburn forever. You can only advise: listen to your body, get advice from a specialist and take care of yourself. Comprehensive treatment of the causes of heartburn and a healthy lifestyle are the main methods in the fight against the disease.