Gerd – Tips for Relief
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a very common disease affecting millions of people across the globe. GERD is caused when the contents of the stomach (and the digestive juices that are present in the stomach), leak back or get refluxed into the esophagus, causing heartburn. GERD treatment is possible, although the symptoms may recur frequently even due to minor instigation factors. The methods used for GERD treatment are usually on a trial and error basis. However, the treatments generally all start the same. For example, you will need to lose any extra weight, try to control GERD through diet and possibly medications and the last course of treatment is usually surgery. Losing weight is very important in controlling GERD. Your doctor will likely suggest a well balanced GERD safe diet plan for you to follow. Incorporate a light to moderate exercise routine and you should be losing weight in no time. Shortly after losing weight you should begin to feel less symptoms of GERD. Only eat soft foods for 2 days. This will allow your esophagus to heal from the scratches made from hard or crunchy foods and the stomach acid. Avoid spicy and acidic foods for 2 days. Typically acidic and spicy foods have been shown to cause GERD. We recommend not eating these foods for the first two days to allow the esophagus and sphincter to heal. Lifestyle Changes should stop smoking and limit caffeine consumption during the first few days of your treatment. Both of these contribute to your reflux problem. Drink water after every meal. Drinking water will keep your sphincter clean and allow your stomach to have a good seal. With a good seal, no stomach acid will be refluxed. Chewing gum is also a great way to mitigate the effects of acid reflux. What many people don’t realize is that saliva is a natural anti-acid and chewing gum increases the amount of saliva that gets swallowed. This calms the stomach and neutralizes excess gastric acids. Antacids are the chief form of treatments for patients of GERD. They neutralize the acid in the stomach, thus leaving no acid to reflux. However, their effect is brief as they empty out of the stomach quickly and subsequently, acid accumulates once again. An antacid, if taken one hour before a meal and then again taken approximately two hours after it, is most effective in reducing reflux. Well, the most commonly used option for GERD treatment involves simple drug therapy, involving the use of antacids, acid suppressants and acid blockers. Medicines that are prescribed for heartburn remedies include – proton pump inhibitors (such as prilosec (omeprazole), prevacid (lansoprazole), nexium (Esomeprazole), aciphex (rabeprazole), and protonix (pantoprazole), which block the production of digestive acids completely in the stomach for a long time; Histamine antagonists, such as tagamet (cimetidine), pepcid (famotidine), zantac (ranitidine) and axid (nizatidine), which suppress excessive production of digestive acids in the stomach and should be taken 30 minutes after your meal; and antacids such as Tums, Mylanta, and Maalox, which neutralize the unused digestive acids present in the stomach, so as to prevent acid reflux.
