Acid Reflux – medically known as Gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) – is a common ailment in which the acids in the stomach back up into the esophagus causing pain and even damage to the lining of the esophagus. It is a very common condition which affects nearly 60 million people in America and millions more around the world.
Acid reflux causes the pain known as heartburn. This is the commonly felt burning pain behind the breastbone we all experience from time to time. However if you get heartburn more than 2 to 3 times a week, it is considered chronic and should be evaluated by a doctor. Heartburn can be confused with the much more serious symptoms of heart disease.
If you are diagnosed with acid reflux disease, there are several very effective treatment options available to you.
Naturally (or “unnaturally”) most doctors recommend medications. There are prescription and over-the-counter medications that have been found effective at relieving acid reflux in patients. These drugs are designed to reduce stomach acid and include antacids and pro-kinetic agents.
Severe cases of acid reflux disease may even require surgery to repair the damage to the esophagus.
Before you get to this point, there are several other options available that may help you to manage your symptoms and pain.
Many heartburn sufferers are able to control their symptoms by making easy lifestyle changes. Okay, describing them is “easy.” Actually doing them may be another matter all together for many of us. However, here are a few simple tips to get you started.
The simplest (is that a word?) lifestyle change you can do to stop the pain of heartburn is to avoid the foods that give you acid reflux in the first place. You probably already know some of them – citrus juice, chocolate, fatty foods, tomato sauce are common culprits for many people – but some may surprise you. Foods affect people differently and no list can be absolutely accurate. The best thing to do is to keep a food diary of what you eat like migraine sufferers do to pinpoint their triggers. Once you pinpoint your bad foods, avoid eating them or modify how you enjoy them (example – choose decaffeinated tea and coffee if you find that caffeine is causing you pain.)
Avoid eating 2 to 3 hours before lying down.
Don’t smoke. Nicotine actually relaxes the esophageal sphincter (the ring of muscle that keeps the stomach closed off from the esophagus.)
Don’t drink alcohol to excess.
Avoid stress. It’s probably no surprise to you that the body produces more stomach acid when it is under stress. So learn to relax.
These are just a few of the simple changes you can easily make in your life to better manage your GERD symptoms.
Acid reflux is quite common, affecting between 60 and 70 million people in America which costs almost $142 billion in total medical bills. In fact almost 1/5 of the US population suffers from acid reflux disease or displays acid reflux symptoms. Visit our site, http://acidrefluxresource.org, for easy solutions you can use to prevent and cure acid reflux, heartburn and indigestion.