Heartburn: causes, symptoms, treatment, prevention

In simple words, heartburn is a burning sensation in the esophagus. But this is rather a description of the physical qualities of its manifestation. The nature of its occurrence is the ingress of gastric juice into the esophagus. The latter is irritated, which leads to the described unpleasant symptoms. At first glance, a harmless and already familiar to many condition can lead to serious consequences, for example, to erosion or even cancer of the esophagus! Therefore, you cannot treat it carelessly, and take all measures not only to eliminate it, but to prevent its subsequent manifestation.

Heartburn: Causes

The main cause of heartburn is an increased level of acidity in the stomach. And only in the rarest cases, it can occur with increased sensitivity of the esophageal mucosa, when the acidity is low. Often, heartburn is accompanied by additional diseases, or against the background of nervous disorders immediately after the next meal.

Exacerbation of problems is observed with an improper lifestyle, especially with an unhealthy diet. Consider the most common provocateurs of this kind of stomach problems.

• Excessive use of alcohol, carbonated drinks, smoking and spicy seasonings. All this irritatingly affects the mucous membrane of the organ, and this, in turn, contributes to an increase in acidity and a weakening of the valve in the stomach, which keeps all the contents inside.
• A provocateur from can be the use of large quantities of citruses, various salted foods, tomatoes, rye bread, pies and a lot of fried foods.
• Abundant secretion of acid can occur with overeating, when the walls of the stomach are strongly stretched, and he begins to work at an increased rhythm.
• The acidity of the stomach increases with certain medications. For example, aspirin, ibuprofen, etc.
• Strong and frequent stress, depression, constant feelings of anxiety are also the cause of severe heartburn.
• A plentiful meal before bedtime, or eating all kinds of harmfulness can cause morning heartburn.
• Prolonged wearing of tight belts in the stomach area, frequent heavy lifting, pregnancy, problems with being overweight, and much more affect the production of stomach acid, which is also expressed in heartburn.

Heartburn symptoms

Symptoms of heartburn can hardly be confused with something. This is a pronounced burning sensation in the abdominal cavity, sometimes reaching the esophagus. When bending and moving, it intensifies, belching with acid appears, a bitter-sour taste appears in the mouth.

If you notice these symptoms in yourself, then with a high probability you can diagnose heartburn. These are "classic" signs, but there are other symptoms in which you need to see a doctor or call an ambulance urgently. For example, if heartburn occurs regularly, while accompanied by loss of appetite and chronic fatigue, consult your doctor.

But in cases where heartburn is accompanied by dark stools, or with the presence of blood in it, vomiting, which also contains blood, severe pain in the chest or back, sweating - be sure to call an ambulance!

Nausea and heartburn

Despite the fact that on the Internet you can find many tales that if heartburn is accompanied by nausea, then it is very scary, in fact, this is not always the case. However, this does not detract from the need to see a doctor for help and advice.

So, for example, if heartburn simultaneously with nausea pursues a pregnant woman, then this is quite normal, since in the body of expectant mothers naughty hormones... If you are not in a position, then you need to be wary. Since this, for sure, is no longer a simple heartburn, but a prerequisite for the disease.

It can be an ulcer, gastritis, cholecystitis. Each of them carries a danger to the entire condition, therefore, treatment should not be neglected. In this case, traditional medicine is unlikely to help, since you need to find out the exact cause of the problems, and this can only be done by a specialist.

Persistent heartburn

If heartburn occurs from time to time, then it is considered to be a consequence of poor nutrition. She, as a rule, is not given much importance. One has only to start eating normally, as everything comes by itself.

But what if heartburn occurs constantly, after every meal? In this case, the process cannot be considered as a separate problem. With a high probability, it can be argued that the reason for this is the presence of diseases, which can be expressed through this unpleasant process.

So, a list of diseases that can have such an expression.

• Stomach or duodenal ulcer.
• Hernia located in the food orifice of the diaphragm. In this case, part of the stomach, and sometimes the intestinal loops themselves, begin to move into the chest cavity through the alimentary opening in the lower region of the esophagus. With a poor-quality and defective function of the obturator system, every time after a meal, a person feels heartburn.
• Chronic gastritis can also cause persistent, severe, and fairly prolonged heartburn.
• Cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder).
• Obesity. The presence of fat in the stomach puts pressure on it. And especially when overeating, this situation leads to the fact that the contents enter the esophagus.
• Inflammatory processes in the duodenum.
• Disease of GERD, in which case there is a violation of the lower sphincter in the esophagus.
• Persistent heartburn can be the result of surgery related to the stomach, gallbladder, duodenum.
• During pregnancy, when the level of pressure in the stomach rises, which causes inadequate behavior of the gastrointestinal tract as a whole.
• Angina pectoris is characterized by specific pains that can be perceived as heartburn, but not.

In any case, if you constantly have heartburn, then this is a good reason to consult a doctor to identify the cause, followed by treatment. Otherwise, ignoring will lead to more serious consequences.

Heartburn-Causing Foods

A trigger for heartburn can be foods that were previously consumed without consequences. And all because they are harmful, just with a small amount of their harm was not so noticeable, but everything has a limit.

Absolutely all acidic foods, including fruits and vegetables, can become the basis for a burning sensation in the stomach. They are certainly useful, but their excess in the diet does not lead to anything good. This also includes juices that contain these ingredients, such as orange and grapefruit juices.

Any alcohol activates the production of gastric juice, which leads to heartburn. However, among the entire list of intoxicating drinks, beer and red wine became the leaders.

Mousses, puddings and other desserts that contain chocolate relax the esophageal sphincter, which in turn facilitates the passage of acid from the stomach. Caffeine, which is abundant in black tea and coffee, works on the same principle. Therefore, if you are prone to this kind of problems, switch to green tea, which is also a hundred times more useful.

Fatty foods and the same foods take too long to digest in the body and cause disturbances in the digestive tract. This can be a heartburn provocateur. First of all, this applies to lard, sausages, smoked meats and sausages. However, it is impossible to completely abandon foods with a fat content. Just make sure your meal doesn't end with a slice of cake or cheese.

Spicy foods can be put almost in the first place among those that can cause stomach problems. This is horseradish, and red pepper, and adjika, and so on. Of course, not every one of them can be harmful, so it is better to exclude everything at first, and then gradually introduce it one by one and watch how your body reacts to it.

Excessive consumption of instant food leads to increased gas production, clogging of the stomach, unpleasant belching, and a burning sensation. Hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs, chips - they are all allies of not only heartburn, but also gastritis and ulcers.

But soda strongly stretches the stomach, which, as in the case of chocolate, relaxes the sphincter and promotes the leakage of gastric juice outward.

Heartburn during pregnancy

Even if before the onset of pregnancy you were not familiar with heartburn, then with the onset of an "interesting" situation, you get every chance to experience a new unpleasant sensation. In the common people, it is customary to associate heartburn with the appearance of marigolds in a baby, and severe heartburn supposedly suggests that the crumbs have rich hair, but is it really not clear.

Doctors have their own interpretation of this. Firstly, the occurrence of heartburn can be explained by hormones, which are constantly raging in the body of a pregnant woman. The second reason is that the growing child begins to put pressure on the stomach, which also leads to heartburn.

As a rule, in the initial stages, a woman does not notice anything unusual, but the longer her term, the more sensitive the body becomes. The situation is aggravated by the fact that the grown-up crumb can kick his mother in the stomach, provoking discomfort... In a normal state, the stomach is closed from the esophagus by a special valve, and does not allow fluid to pass out. But during pregnancy, under the influence of the hormone progesterone, muscle tone is lost, and this valve also weakens.

But more often heartburn makes itself felt precisely after a meal, so special attention should be paid to what does a young mommy eat... Try to eat foods that are unable to cause heartburn, this will be a good prevention.

As for the drug treatment of heartburn - before using any drugs, including those from a number of traditional medicine, you should definitely consult with your doctor. As the body becomes the most vulnerable and sensitive, then take treatment seriously.

Here are some helpful tips to help you avoid heartburn during pregnancy.

1. To improve your physical condition, to keep your hormones normal, use tea made from natural mint.
2. Avoid overeating, as being overweight can trigger heartburn.
3. Eat small meals more often. Try to split your portions into 5-6 meals.
4. Take your time and chew your food thoroughly.
5. Try to eat foods that prevent heartburn. These are: low-fat cottage cheese, sour cream, steamed omelets, boiled dietary fish and meat, dried white bread.
6. It is better to eat fruits baked, and vegetables in grated form, so they are better absorbed.
7. Introduce boiled beets and steamed prunes into your diet. This will avoid constipation, which requires exertion, which, in turn, increases intra-abdominal pressure, and this is a "joy" for heartburn.
8. Avoid fried and fatty foods, sour and hot sauces and spices, radishes and cabbage, black tea, coffee, soda, citrus fruits and tomatoes. All these are provocateurs of heartburn problems.
9. Forget about smoking and alcohol.
10. Eat light meals for dinner, no meat.
11. After each meal, try to sit quietly for twenty minutes and not go to bed.
12. Do not wear tight clothing.
13. Watch your water-salt balance, drink enough water.
14. Try to bend less as this movement can also cause heartburn.

Heartburn in a child

With the popularization of fast foods, the easy attitude of parents to the child's diet, a new problem has come, which they could not have thought of before - heartburn in children. A damaged or simply weakened gastrointestinal tract makes itself felt.

The problem is that if an adult can recognize an ailment, then everything is much more problematic with a child. He simply may not say anything, and in the meantime he will develop the disease. But an attentive attitude to one's own child changes everything.

If the child cries regularly after eating, and then refuses to eat, if he has an eructation and he complains of nausea, if the baby complains about strange sensations and he often has depressed state- this is a serious reason to think about it, is everything okay? These are the main signs of heartburn in children.

First of all, analyze what the child has eaten recently and think about which of this could serve as a source. Eliminate deliberately harmful foods, include fermented milk products in the diet. And as soon as possible, go to the pediatric gastroenterologist.

In no case is it possible to self-medicate with children, since an unformed digestive system may react inappropriately and the child will receive an extra sore or complication.

Heartburn treatment

Heartburn can be treated with both folk and medication. To get the help of a competent person, you need to contact a gastroenterologist, this is just his profile. A competent doctor will conduct an examination to find out what exactly provokes an increased production of acid, organizes a number of activities that will help check for the presence of indirect diseases that can cause such symptoms.

After that, treatment is prescribed. It is impossible to name the method specifically, since in each individual case they are different, depending on the stage and type of the disease. As a rule, this is medical treatment.

How to get rid of heartburn

The best way to get rid of heartburn is to adjust your own diet, making it the most acceptable and close to proper nutrition. Many exaggerate, building whole nutrition schemes for themselves. But if you do not start the problem, but begin to eliminate it at the very stage of inception, then it will be quite enough to exclude everything harmful from what is eaten.

These are carbonated drinks, and a large number of fried and smoked, canned food, fast food. Switch to "live" food that is steamed, cooked, or stewed. This will not only have a beneficial effect on the condition of the gastrointestinal tract, but it will have a good effect on the condition of hair, skin, nails and general health.

We will talk about how to treat heartburn with folk methods just below.

How to get rid of heartburn quickly

Treating heartburn is good, but it often happens that you need to get rid of the symptoms as soon as possible. And here "magic wands" come to the rescue, about which we will tell you.

• Almonds will quickly help neutralize heartburn. The nut must be chewed thoroughly and for a long time. It's great if before that you have the opportunity to pour boiling water over the almonds. But even without that, he is a good helper. Therefore, if heartburn often catches you by surprise, then carry this "ambulance" with you.
• Similarly, you can use oat or barley seeds. When heartburn attacks occur, simply chew the semen, swallowing saliva regularly.
• The simplest mineral water helps to eliminate discomfort very well and quickly. It is important that she be without gas, otherwise the condition will only progress.
• Reduces the concentration of acid in the gum. Or rather, not so much it as saliva, which is constantly released at the time of its chewing. True, this method is best used only in the most extreme cases, when there is nothing suitable at hand. Since the elimination of symptoms, as a rule, does not last long.
• You can also drink natural yogurt or kefir. Any fermented milk products have a beneficial effect on the work of the entire gastrointestinal tract and has a healing effect.

These methods will help you endure for a while. But in any case, stomach problems should be treated without delay.

Folk remedies for heartburn

Most people resort to medication only if traditional medicine has not yielded the desired results, which is extremely rare. This can only be when the cause of heartburn lies in a third-party disease, and, as you know, success in treatment comes only after exposure directly to the focus of inflammation.

We present to your attention some of the most effective methods that will help in the treatment of an ailment.

• A couple of tablespoons of dry chamomile flowers are poured into a glass of boiling water. The composition is allowed to brew for about half an hour, after which it is filtered and drunk in very small sips. You need to organize at least three receptions per day. For ease of use, you can use regular chamomile tea.
• Pour a teaspoon of flaxseed with half a glass of boiling water. It is advisable to harvest the infusion at night, and take it ready in the morning. Before drinking, it must be brought to a boil and taken cooled on an empty stomach. The course of treatment is at least two weeks. A more simplified recipe can be used. Grind flax seeds, and at the time of the onset of heartburn, brew a teaspoon of seeds and drink a drink instead of tea.
• Grind dry angelica (its leaves, root and seeds) to a powder. Pour a pinch of the finished product with a glass of boiling water and wait about twenty minutes. You need to use the composition three times a day.
• Mix dry anise seeds, dill and fennel, in an amount of a teaspoon of each product. Pour 200 ml of boiling water. Use the ready-made infusion in small portions until the heartburn stops. The general admission is no more than two weeks.
• Freshly prepared potato juice helps to get rid of heartburn. Moreover, this method is ideal for cases where discomfort is accompanied by pain and belching. However, the only drawback is that the potatoes must be natural - preferably from a personal garden. You can buy it from summer residents or ask friends who can grow it. Squeeze juice from grated potatoes and drink 3-5 times a day. 0.5 cup is drunk immediately after waking up, on an empty stomach. After that, you need to lie down and lie down for about half an hour. Then you can start breakfast (for example, oatmeal, which is very useful in these cases). The course of treatment is 10 days, with the same break and repeat.
• Rinse and dry the oats. Grind it into powder. Then put one tablespoon of the resulting product in a thermos and pour one and a half cups of boiling water, close the lid and let stand for at least five hours. Strain the composition and take a quarter of a glass half an hour before meals and always before bedtime.

Despite the fact that traditional medicine is much safer than drug treatment, it is necessary to consult a doctor before taking any remedy. This will avoid side effects and allergies that may arise during treatment.

Soda for heartburn

Baking soda is probably the most popular remedy for heartburn. The product is in every home, unlike pills, so at the first symptom, it is diluted in water and drunk. This love for soda has arisen for a reason, the fact is that it really effectively "extinguishes" the inner fire.

But doctors categorically do not accept this method of treatment. Abrupt quenching leads to the fact that the stomach begins to work more intensively, producing acid. Over time, the heartburn will get worse and worse. Of course, if such problems happen from time to time, this technique will not bring anything terrible. But with frequent heartburn, and even more so constant, it is better to give up soda in favor of quality treatment.

Heartburn pills

Medicines should be prescribed by a doctor - and this is an "iron" rule!

Here is a list of the most popular yet inexpensive drugs that fight heartburn:

• Phosphalugel.
• Gastricide.
• Rutacid.
• Rennie.
• Relzer.
• Vikair.

The consequences of heartburn

Rare heartburn, which happens due to the eaten "something wrong", brings nothing but unpleasant sensations. However, frequent problems, persistent heartburn, can lead to esophageal cancer. Since the acid escaping from the stomach burns it. In order not to bring the body to a fatal state, try to monitor your health in advance by controlling your diet.

Heartburn: prevention

Review your diet, make it more favorable for your body. Eat more foods that prevent heartburn. You can safely include here:

• Various cereals. Especially rice, buckwheat and oatmeal. It is advisable to cook them in water, so the body will better absorb the useful substances contained in them.
• Green salad and other herbs (dill and parsley) have a positive effect on digestion.
• Eat broths regularly, both vegetable and chicken, and fish. You can add pasta, cereals to them.
• Vegetables that will never cause heartburn: carrots, beets, cucumbers, zucchini and pumpkin. You can bake them, make salads from them and safely use them in any quantity.
• Diet varieties of fish and meat, which are best steamed or boiled.
• Low-fat fish and cottage cheese, soft-boiled or omeletted eggs, mild and low-fat cheese.
• Kissels, self-made jellies and marshmallows.

All of the above products can be consumed without fear of heartburn.

And yet, experts strongly recommend that you be less nervous, since a bad mood, constant stress and a depressive state contribute to the appearance of problems with the digestive system. And this is not just a bike, but a scientifically proven fact!