National Heartburn Alliance
Heartburn Causes
Heartburn And Gas
Heartburn Chest Pain
Heartburn
Acid Reflux
natural remedies for heartburn
And, it is also normal for people to suffer heartburn in spite of the fact that they eat healthy food and enjoy a life free of stress. As mentioned before, if these home treatments dont alleviate the problem in two weeks, call your doctor. For those who wish to cure their heartburn in a more natural way, the key is to fight the source of the heartburn and many natural food products help to replace standard heartburn medications. Also, they can normally be taken in conjunction with other prescription medications so that all suffers from heartburn have a solution that works.
heartburn diet
The cause of heartburn can be attributed to the valve that lies between the stomach and esophagus that is known as the lower esophageal sphincter getting weakened or becoming relaxed and thus not closing properly. It will only cause you great discomfort and then you will end up looking for how to stop heartburn and having to take antacids that have a chalky taste that may not sit well with your taste buds. Several medical tests should pinpoint the problem, and the doctor will usually make several recommendations. The people troubled by the symptoms can stop heartburn after consultation with a physician and changes in their diet and lifestyle. All of these changes should help your doctor help you treat heartburn.
Take Heartburn medication Such As Antacid, H2 Blockers And PPIs
The number of sufferers of heartburn is many and it is believed that as many as sixty million plus Americans have had that misfortune to have experienced heartburn, which is why it is probably also the most lucrative medical problem from the point of view of the many heartburn medication manufacturing companies. When a person experiences a searing burning pain that can start from the breastbone and move upwards, the condition more than likely is nothing but heartburn. In such a condition, the stomach acid ends up moving the wrong way and leaves the stomach to enter a persons esophagus which is consequently inflamed as well as irritated.
Neutralizing Acids Present In The Stomach
Approaching the problem of heartburn can take three different routes in which the first method used would be to take antacids which provide temporary relief. Such medications consist of calcium carbonate, magnesium as well as aluminum which help in neutralizing the acid present in the stomach and they are also known to act in a quick manner. There are antacids such as Pepto-Bismol that prevent the acid from making contact with the esophagus and thus help prevent heartburn. Other heartburn medication such as Gaviscon help in making a foam barrier that lies between the stomach and the esophagus.
Another type of heartburn medication is H2 blockers of which certain drugs such as Cimetidine, Ranitidine, and Nizatidine as also Famstidine help in giving relief from heartburn as they suppress the production of acid in the stomach. This form of heartburn medication only take an hour or two to provide relief and this relief may last for at most twelve hours.
You might also want to try out proton pump inhibitors (PPI) which include Omeprazole and also Lansoprozole that help switch off the production of acid though in a manner that is not the same as that of H2 blockers. With this heartburn medication, the proton pump in the stomachs mucus lining is interfered with and thus effectively provides relief from heartburn within an hour while its effects are good for a whole day. It is also possible to use these heartburn medications in combination by taking antacid along with H2 blockers which will provide immediate relief as well as long term relief respectively.
Though the effectiveness of these heartburn medications is yet to be established most physicians would agree that they are good supporting medications. An alternative to these heartburn medications is taking OTC drugs, which are effective up to a point; though for a problem that lasts for a longer period, it may be necessary to get advice from your physician since the heartburn could be a warning of an even worse and more serious condition.