Wednesday, March 19, 2014

6 Top Treatments for Managing Heartburn

A chronic case of heartburn caused by a digestive disorder like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can result in wide-ranging complications. Leaving acid reflux untreated can lead to serious health issues, including cancer of the esophageal. Here are six of the most-effective options for treating acid reflux:
Lifestyle changes
Making simple lifestyle changes often helps the patient with the recurring problems with heartburn. Many of the symptoms associated with heartburn are relieved by making adjustments to everyday activities, from eating smaller and more frequent meals, reducing the intake of acid-stimulating liquids and foods, elevating the head when sleeping, maintaining a sensible weight and relaxing.
Healthy dietary plan
A common reason to suffer from heartburn relates to the specific type of food eaten. A person with an increased chance of suffering from this condition needs to take extra care to manage the day-to-day food intake. By eating the heartburn safe food and making the right recipes, it is possible to significantly cut the risk of experiencing issues with acid reflux. Certain trigger foods, like spicy foods, alcohol, carbonated beverages, tomato juice and black pepper, should be minimized to cut the chance of suffering from heartburn.
Over-the-counter medication
An over-the-counter remedy like histamine receptor antagonists is one of the more effective options for treating symptoms associated with heartburn. This helps to reduce the amount of acid produced in the stomach that passes to the esophagus. This remedy is helpful for those patients suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease. Another over-the-counter medication is the Antacids which help neutralize the acid content in the stomach. It is fast acting and helps provide heartburn relief as soon as the medication reaches the stomach.
Prescription medication
A doctor can prescribe proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to help slow or stop the release of acid into the intestines and stomach. PPIs are given to patients with excess stomach acid (Zollinger-Ellison Syndrome), ulcers of the intestine or stomach, or acid reflux.
Promotility agents
The Promotility agents are given to patients with the GERD symptoms and having issues with slow gastric emptying. These agents are designed to increase the speed of digestion. This helps remove acid from the stomach at a quicker rate. This therapy option is considered when taking proton pump inhibitors or histamine receptor antagonists aren't effective.
Alternative treatments
Similar to many health complaints, it is possible to use a range of natural and homeopathic remedies to treat symptoms associated with the chronic acid reflux. Natural ways of treating heartburn include deglycyrrhizinated licorice, bananas, ginger, apple cider vinegar, chamomile tea, aloe Vera juice and turmeric.

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