Acid reflux isn’t pleasant. Symptoms of acid reflux include heartburn (a painful burning sensation in your abdomen, chest, or throat), regurgitation (acid backing up into your throat or mouth), and dyspepsia (burping, nausea, bloating, and abdominal pain/discomfort). If acid reflux occurs frequently and chronically, you may be diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, which is a chronic digestive disease.
He Drank His Way To A Nobel Prize
Dr Barry Marshall an internist and Dr Robin Warren a pathologist at Royal Perth Hospital both suffered from seeing patients with severe acid reflux disease. Some patients had their stomachs removed or bled until they died. In 1981 they began working together to find a cure for GERD and ulcers. Dr Warren had discovered that the patients gut were filled with bacteria shaped like cork screws.
Surviving A Liquid Diet: 6 Tips To Keep You From Cheating Post Surgery
Often after reflux or GERD surgery you will be put on a liquid diet. This is often done to heal reflux disease, repair a hiatal hernia, or the esophagus. This diet helps control excessive gas, pain, difficulty swallowing, and problems with surgery after the operation is performed .The clear liquid diet has fruit juices, chicken broth, beef broth, flavored gelatin, coffee or tea, popsicles, and Italian ice. A clear liquid diet should only be for a few days.
How Can I Tell If My Baby Has Acid Reflux?
e’re all familiar with the following scenario: you’re holding a baby, cooing over how cute she is, when suddenly the shoulder of your favorite shirt is covered with spit-up. If she’s someone else’s baby—great. You wrinkle your nose, hand her back, and start dabbing the undigested milk or formula off your clothing. If she’s your baby, well…this is probably the third time you’ve been spit-up on this morning, so chances are you don’t even bat an eyelash.
Acid Reflux: The Not So Beautiful Side of Pregnancy
There are many beautiful things about pregnancy: that wonderful pregnancy glow, the increased voluptuousness of your curves, and of course the fact that you are nurturing a brand new life inside of you. Unfortunately, there are some not-so-beautiful things about pregnancy as well: constantly having to pee, morning sickness, pregnancy cost, and acid reflux, to name a few. Continue reading article>
5 Ways Reflux Is Ruining Your Life
If you suffer from acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease, you may frequently encounter people who don’t understand just how much the symptoms of acid reflux affect your daily life. Many people think that reflux is “just” heartburn. They don’t understand the wide variety of other symptoms reflux produces and the serious impact these can have on everyday activities that most people don’t think twice about. Continue Reading Article >
5 Pokemon Who Definitely Have Acid Reflux
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably at least heard of the Pokémon Go craze that is sweeping the nation. So I thought we’d spice up the topic of acid reflux (see what I did there?) by looking at some Pokémon who appear to be suffering some of the many symptoms of acid reflux.
Charizard
Ok, this one is pretty self-explanatory. He’s a dragon, and he’s literally breathing fire! Takes the term “heartburn”, one of the most common symptoms of acid reflux, to a whole new level. This Pokémon is going to need more than few antacids to put out that fire.
Gloom
Another uncomfortable symptom of acid reflux is regurgitation, “a sour or bitter tasting acid backing up into your throat or mouth.” Poor Gloom looks like he has it bad!
Poliwhirl
See that swirling maelstrom in this Pokémon’s gut? He looks like he may be experiencing dyspepsia, an unpleasant symptom of acid reflux that includes belly pain, bloating, and nausea.
Magmar
So I’m pretty sure this Pokémon is a male (don’t ask me why, just gut intuition I suppose), but it was the closest one I could find that looks like it might be pregnant, so bear with me. I wanted to illustrate the fact that acid reflux is very common during pregnancy, in fact more than half of pregnant women experience acid reflux. Yeah, you’d look grumpy too!
Snorlax
One of the common risk factors for acid reflux is being overweight or obese…but the extra padding makes him so cute and cuddly! Unfortunately, if you suffer from acid reflux, you may find yourself wanting to sleep sitting up, just like this guy.
All joking aside, acid reflux is something that affects over 60% of the American population on a monthly basis, and over 20% of the American population weekly. The symptoms and risk factors these Pokemon exhibit are representative of the struggles many Americans with reflux face on a daily basis, and definitely merit awareness. If you’ve been suffering from acid reflux on a regular basis, it may be time to talk to a specialist. There are several treatment options for acid reflux, many of them as simple as lifestyle changes, so don’t let something as simple as reflux take over your life.
Written by: Margaret Durkovic
The 10 Funniest Tweets About Reflux
For those of you who don’t know, acid reflux affects millions of people around the world every day. There is no single demographic to sum up this group because reflux can affect all age groups. Reflux occurs when the valve called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter functions improperly. Continue Reading Article >
How Can I Diagnose GERD?
GERD is not a pretty name in my opinion, and it also can be a pain-in-the-chest—literally. That’s two negatives facing this precocious pest that often occurs to us when our stomach acid or stomach content shoots its way back into our food pipe (AKA the esophagus). The backwash (reflux) can and usually does agitate the lining of our esophagus and cause GERD. Continue Reading Article >
3 Strange Symptoms of Reflux and How To Overcome Them
We all know the symptoms that come along acid reflux. There’s the bloating, heartburn, and stomach cramps that always follow your favorite meal, but there are also symptoms you could be experiencing that are less common among people suffering from reflux. However, people who suffer from acid reflux may come across these unique symptoms and there are most certainly ways to battle the symptoms when they arise. Here's the top three rare symptoms of reflux and how to combat them. Continue Reading Article >
6 Common Symptoms of Acid Reflux
What is acid reflux? Acid reflux is the accumulation of symptoms caused from indigestion, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and heartburn. Where the esophagus meets the stomach there is a valve called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), when operating correctly this valve is responsible for allowing food into the stomach, then stopping it from returning to the esophagus. This doesn't sound pretty, and it definitely doesn't feel great. Here's a list of symptoms that are tell tale signs that you have acid reflux. Continue Reading Article >
3 GERD Symptoms That Are Ruining Your Life
What is GERD? It is a form of chronic heartburn that is called gastroesophageal reflux disease. The esophagus is the tube that connects the throat to the stomach. When you suffer from GERD, it often becomes swollen and irritated over time, which leads to inflammation and scarring. GERD can activate many symptoms that interfere with daily living. Continue reading article>
Side Effects of Reflux Medications
Most over the counter drugs and prescription reflux medications have side effects. Talking with your doctor about the effects and finding a way to deal with them is the best solution. If you're experiencing extreme symptoms, don't feel as if you are defeated. There are other options for treating reflux like lifestyle changes and non-invasive surgery.
Common Over the Counter Antacids
There are over 100 different over the counter antacids for heartburn and reflux. Sodium bicarbonate antacids like Alka Seltzer contain baking soda and aspirin. If you have high blood pressure or are on a low sodium diet, avoid these medicines. Calcium carbonate medications like Tums and Alka Mints often cause constipation. Aluminum based drugs can cause constipation, calcium loss, and kidney problems in some patients. Magnesium based antacids, such as Milk of Magnesia, may cause diarrhea. However, combinations of aluminum and magnesium based antacids are less likely to cause constipation or diarrhea.
H2 Blockers
The most common over the counter acid reflux medications and prescriptions that decrease the amount of acid produced by the stomach are called H2 blockers. They are Zantac, Pepcid, Tagamet, and Axid. They have been in use since the 1960’s and have minor side effects. Some of the side effects are nausea, headaches, constipation, dizziness, and diarrhea. Although they often help with side effects, they do not cure GERD symptoms.
Proton Pump Inhibitors
Proton Pump Inhibitors come in over the counter and prescription form and reduce stomach acid produced in the stomach. Long term use has been found to cause bone loss and lead to breaks and fractures in the elderly. In some patients they lead to loss of vitamin B-12 and iron. Another side effect to be cautious of is an increased the risk of infections. Doctors strongly advise taking calcium supplements and eating a diet rich in iron and Vitamin B-12 if using proton pump inhibitors.
Common prescription drugs are Nexium, Dexilant, Prilosec, Zegerid, and Vivimo. Over the counter proton pump inhibitors are Prilosec, Zegerid and Prevacid. It is advised not to stay on these medications for extended periods of time. However, this should be discussed with your doctor. Some doctor recommend taking a minimum dose until more research studies are completed. However, proton pump inhibitors are considered one of the more successful GERD medications.
Lifestyle Changes and Natural Remedies for Reflux
As with most health related issues, your life style plays a significant role in your health. There are various ways to cut out unhealthy habits and incorporate healthier alternatives. You'll most likely see a difference in your symptoms if you follow these natural remedies for acid reflux.
- If you are currently overweight, focus on reaching your healthy body weight. Excessive weight often puts pressure on the stomach causing acid to back up in the esophagus.
- Avoid acidic foods that causes heartburn such as tomatoes, spicy foods, anything fried, caffeine, fatty foods and too much alcohol.
- Eat smaller meals and don’t lie down after a meal for several hours.
- If you're a smoker, kick the unhealthy habit asap.
Most reflux medication and GERD medications work well but have some side effects. Discussing the problem with your doctor is the best solution for this problem. Often dealing with side effects means changing your diet, taking supplements, or finding different medications that works for you. Everyone is different, so it make take a little time to find what works best for you, but don't give up.
By Joan Russell
What Is GERD?
If you're a living, breathing human being then you've suffered from acid reflux at some point in your life, whether you knew it or not. Reflux is a normal part of life. In fact, the average American refluxes several times a day and doesn't even know that it's happening. However, when a person starts experiencing GERD symptoms, there is an issue. So, what is GERD? Continue reading here >