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Eat one too many triple anchovie pizzas or five tacos with extra hot sauce, and there it is---- that familiar burning sensation in the center of your chest. But you can also get it from a simple condy bar or a cup of coffee.
Beartburn happens when the small valve (the hiatus) between the esophagus and the stomach weakens. This lets some of the acid in the stomach to splash out. While the lining of your stomach normally protects you from the acid, nothing protects the esophagus. If you suffer from frequent heartburn, you esophagus may become uncreated.
Causes
Some of the items which can cause heartburn include smoking, alcohol, caffeine, carbonated beverages such as soda pop, chocolate, foods, loaded with fats, and spicy foods.
Heartburn is also a by-product of eating to much food, and then laying down flat. Sometimes prescription medications. Such as certain sedatives or antidepressants, contribute to heartburn.
Antacid Drugs
With movement of the drugs tagamet, Zantec, and pepcide- AC from the realm of prescription to over-the-counter medications, frequent hearburn sufferers get effective pain relief. If you feel only the occasional bout with heartbum, try a Rolaids or Tums.
As with any medication, read the direction and don’t overuse antacids. Side effects include too much magnesium in your body, diarrhea, and calcium metabolism problems.
Other Heartburn Relievers
If you don’t want to take antacids, try these ways of managing heartburn.
Avoid foods that bother your stomach, and try a bland diet for awhile, some people find eating five or six small meals everyday much easier or their bodies than three large meals.
After a large meal, sit upright for a few hours. Laying down only lets the stomach acid roll up your esophagus. For certain people who suffer from persistent heartburn of hiatus hernias (a condition marked by persistent burning in the throat and esophagus, caused by the malfunction of the hiatus), it helps to prop up the head of the bed about six inches with wooden blocks.
Finally, ignore any advice that says drinking a glass of milk or sucking on a mint is good for heartburn. It isn’t. all these items do it relax the hiatus and create even more stomach acid.
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