Dine with appetite, perhaps, one of those important daily activities that make our life by no means meaningless. Therefore, many of us (even those who sincerely care about their figure) are in no hurry to get up from the table with a starched tablecloth, served with family cutlery. What a disappointment sometimes happens when, after about an hour, gourmets suddenly begin to feel an unpleasant burning sensation behind the sternum. It can also be given to the neck area. You don’t have to be a doctor to diagnose yourself. That feeling of discomfort that you experienced after enjoying food is nothing more than heartburn.
A burning sensation inside is not a pleasant feeling, it does not give rest for a long time. However, this is far from the only way it can manifest itself. heartburn.Some of us experience at this moment some kind of pressure, a bursting inside. For others, it’s like some kind of lump in the chest. And most importantly – in any case, with different sensations, a desire to get rid of heartburn quickly appears. How to do this, we will explain later. And for starters, it makes sense to talk about how heartburn appears and what it is all about.
In our body, as in modern mechanical units, there are various valves. One of them is located between the esophagus and stomach. When we, for example, swallow a tasty piece of chop, it slides down the esophagus and enters the stomach. Circular muscle fibers do not allow him to go back. If the valve does not close well, then acid from the stomach enters the esophagus, and this causes an unpleasant sensation of heartburn. It can also appear if a similar valve located between the stomach and intestines does not work reliably. In the same way, the contents of the intestines suddenly change direction, return and cause heartburn.
Now that we know the internal mechanics of our body, it is not difficult to understand what causes heartburn. First of all, it is immoderate food consumption. The temptation to eat more is bad for our well-being. The stomach is stuffed with all sorts of yummy so much that it begins to stretch like a piece of rubber, and the valve does not withstand the load. In addition, the more food we eat, the more acid is released to process everything we eat. And she, getting into the esophagus, begins to bother us. Including for this reason, doctors recommend eating a little, but more often.
Valves begin to act up if a person smokes or drinks. In the first case, nicotine enhances the secretion of gastric juice. In the second, the muscular locking device relaxes. But heartburn can remind of itself not only to those who smoke a cigarette or do not mind relaxing with a glass of wine. Its deceit extends to those who seem to lead a completely healthy lifestyle, but do not attach importance to some “little things”. The enjoyment of coffee, chocolate, all kinds of spices that make our favorite dishes more delicious, leads to the fact that a lot of acid appears in the stomach, which irritates the mucous membrane. And the result is the same: the valves do not withstand. The same reaction in the body can be caused by various drugs, among which aspirin is considered the most common.
So, we figured out that diet and heartburn are closely related. However, such an unpleasant sensation may have other roots. You ate before going to bed, not necessarily heavy. However, as soon as you take a horizontal position in bed, heartburn may appear due to the fact that in such a comfortable position for many, acid flows into the stomach and begins to disturb the person. The likelihood of discomfort is high due to being overweight, a tightly tightened belt, or if you are serious about lifting weights. Intra-abdominal pressure may increase so much that heartburn cannot be avoided.
It’s time to talk about prevention and how to deal with heartburn, since it has already shown itself. Recall that our body is the same unit, but if in order for the pump to work properly it is sometimes enough to replace the valves, then for most of us such recommendations are no longer suitable. spare parts in digestive system can not be. In this case, it is best to take other measures. Let’s take a closer look at some useful tips.
You have to eat to live, not live to eat. A well-known truth, which many nevertheless neglect, and therefore suffer. This fully applies to those who complain of heartburn, but love to eat hearty. In this case, they can be recommended to drink water along with food in small sips – it washes away acid from the walls of the esophagus. You can also drink mineral water, but without gas, because carbon dioxide increases the acidity of gastric juice, which again leads to leakage through the valves.
Aspirin, if it is necessary to drink it, try to take it after meals or against the background of a drug such as Misoprostol, which significantly reduces the unnecessary effects of drugs.
Those who are overweight have a harder time compared to those who have tightened their belts due to hunger. If you relax it a little, intra-abdominal pressure normalizes. Even better, if you change the strap for … suspenders.
If heartburn torments you when you have dinner before going to bed, then it is recommended not to go to bed for some time. It is advisable to sit a little, for example, by the TV or with a book in an armchair, and when lying down, raise the head of the pillow by 10-15 centimeters. A simple measure will help the valves withstand the desired load.
If heartburn has declared itself and is unbearable, then drink plain water, alkaline mineral water, or a weak soda solution. However, it is not recommended to constantly save yourself with a glass of water with a pinch of soda, because in such cases the acidity in the stomach decreases, and then sharply increases. The gastric mucosa can hardly tolerate such changes.
Periodic heartburn after willingly eating tomatoes, tangerines, drinking strong tea or coffee is not terrible. It is clear that you need to eat and drink in moderation. However, if heartburn reminds of itself constantly, then you need to see a doctor. Necessarily! It is not at all an exception that burning behind the sternum is a sign of any disease. It is especially alarming when heartburn is accompanied by bloody vomiting, intense chest pain, dizziness, difficulty swallowing, dehydration and unreasonable weight loss. In these cases, heartburn will have to be treated along with the underlying disease, for example, chronic gastritis and peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum.
Stas KOZLOVSKY,
gastroenterologist
