Have you ever felt, at least once, a great discomfort and a burning that seemed to rise from the abdomen to your throat ?! Well, have you suffered from heartburn then? well-known sense of name, but few people actually know what it stands for.
Below you will find all the information about heartburn, what is its causes, treatments as well as important guidelines on how to avoid this uncomfortable feeling. It is worth checking!
What is heartburn?
Alexandre Sakano, gastroenterologist at São Luiz Itaim Maternity Hospital, explains that heartburn is the burning sensation in the chest and abdomen in the stomach region, which radiates from the end of the sternum (in the so-called mouth of the stomach) to the base of the neck, reaching to the throat.
Main causes
Heartburn, according to Sakano, is usually caused by reflux, which is the return of contents from the stomach to the esophagus, an organ that carries food from the mouth to the stomach.
The gastroenterologist explains that we usually have a muscle that closes the passage of the esophagus to the stomach and prevents this reflux. "In case of reflux, this muscle is no longer effective allowing the food to return from the stomach to the esophagus, causing heartburn," he says.
When to seek medical help?
According to Sakano, heartburn is occasionally normal. "And we can all have, after the excesses like eating" heavier "foods, greasy food, excess alcohol etc," he says.
However, when symptoms become very frequent, according to the doctor, one may be facing a person with gastro-esophageal reflux disease. "It needs, in this case, a medical evaluation and diagnostic tests to better clarify the causes of reflux," he says.
Heartburn Treatments
For cases of occasional heartburn, according to Sakano, regular drugs, sold over-the-counter at pharmacies such as antacids, may help.
In the case of gastroesophageal reflux disease, the use of disease-specific medications is required, which should be prescribed after medical evaluation, according to gastroenterologist Sakano. "These drugs can be used for short periods, until symptoms improve or, in more intense cases, maintained for long periods," he says.
In some cases, the doctor points out, reflux correction surgery can be performed, with excellent results.
Homemade Recipes That Can Help Relieve Heartburn
Still according to Sakano, when heartburn is occasional, so-called homemade treatments, such as drinking milk and juices of some types of vegetables, end up being effective, acting as natural antacids. Check out some tips in this regard. It is worth noting:
- Mint is a very digestive plant. To avoid heartburn, it is worth including it in your daily diet. One tip is to take 100 ml of mint tea (without sweetening) right after meals to help digest food.
- Also to help relieve heartburn mint tea is a good option.
- To reduce heartburn, you can eat a saltine cracker, which will absorb gastric acid, facilitating the digestion of food.
- Another suggestion is to eat little pieces of bread instead of crackers.
- Drinking milk, which is an alkaline substance, during the time of the crisis, has the power to buffer acid and improve heartburn.
- Mixing half a glass of water with a spoonful of calcium bicarbonate can also help relieve heartburn. This is because it is alkaline and neutralizes excess stomach hydrochloric acid.
- Drinking freshly made pear juice is a good? Home remedy? against heartburn. This is because the fruit is rich in fiber and can dilute stomach acid, relieving discomfort.
How to prevent heartburn
To avoid heartburn, Alexandre Sakano gives some guidelines:
- Ideally, avoid very large meals;
- Avoid slower digesting foods;
- Avoid excess alcohol.
Also according to the doctor, in patients with reflux disease, it is necessary:
- Do not eat very large meals, being ideal to eat a small amount at a time, several times a day;
- Avoid eating and lying down shortly thereafter;
- Avoid acidic, spicy or very spicy foods.
Some foods worsen reflux as they relax the muscles that close the passage of the esophagus to the stomach, making the passage looser, which worsens the symptom. These foods are, for example: teas, coffee, alcoholic beverages ?, highlights Sakano.
Heartburn x Reflux x Gastritis
The truth is, many people have felt a burning in their stomachs someday. However, not all could identify the reason for this uncomfortable sensation. There is a lot of confusion, for example, between the definition of heartburn, reflux and gastritis. It is therefore very important to know the meaning of each of these words.
Gastritis is defined as an acute or chronic inflammation of the mucosa that lines the inner walls of the stomach. The pain of gastritis is circumscribed, beginning in the epigastric region, just below the sternum. In general, the complaint is pain in the pit of the stomach, which may or may not be accompanied by heartburn.
Heartburn, as already mentioned, is a symptom that may be caused by reflux. "Patients with symptoms of heartburn at least twice a week, lasting 4 to 8 weeks, should be considered as having gastroesophageal reflux disease," explains Sakani.
You now have the key information on the subject and you know that when heartburn becomes very common, it is important to seek medical advice, who will do a thorough evaluation and can indicate the best treatment for you.
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