How to get rid of heartburn at home?

Almost every one of us, at least once in his life, has experienced heartburn and unpleasant sensations that accompany this condition. Today, let's talk about how to get rid of heartburn at home and how to adjust the diet to forget about the discomfort associated with digestive disorders.

What is heartburn and why does it occur?

The term "heartburn" in medicine means a condition in which after eating a burning sensation occurs in the epigastric region, extending from the stomach to the throat. Simultaneously, there is pain in the epigastric, eructation, sour or bitter taste in the mouth. Why do such unpleasant symptoms occur? To understand this, you need to understand how the digestive system functions.

In a healthy person, the work of the pharynx, esophagus and cardinal sphincter( the valve between the esophagus and stomach) is clearly coordinated. The functions of the sphincter are to pass the food lump from the esophagus into the stomach without delay and prevent the penetration of gastric contents into the esophagus, even if a person stands on his head.

The correct operation of this valve is very important, since it prevents damage to the esophagus by concentrated hydrochloric acid located in the stomach. If the functioning of the sphincter is broken and the valve closes loosely, the aggressive gastric juice is thrown into the esophagus, which causes characteristic symptoms of heartburn.

Types of

Physicians distinguish 2 types of this condition:

• "acidic" heartburn;
• "bitter" or alkaline heartburn.

The first type of heartburn occurs when gastric juice is thrown into the esophagus, in this case, simultaneously with burning, a characteristic acidic taste appears in the mouth. With "bitter" heartburn, damage to the esophagus causes penetration of bile and pancreatic enzymes, which have an alkaline reaction and cause an unpleasant bitter taste in the mouth.

Accordingly, before you start treatment for heartburn, you need to determine its type, since drugs for alkaline and acidic heartburn are diametrically opposed. For example, if alkaline heartburn is taken drugs to reduce acidity, the result will be zero and unpleasant symptoms will only worsen.

Symptoms of

We found out that heartburn occurs due to the failure of the locking valve and the violation of digestive processes that provoke the transfer of bile or gastric juice into the esophagus. The main symptoms accompanying this condition are a burning sensation that arises behind the sternum and rises up the esophagus.

In this case, there are painful feelings of pressing or compressive nature, which are accompanied by a feeling of heaviness, eructation and a characteristic bitter or sour taste in the mouth. An unpleasant symptom causes increased salivation, an eructation with an unpleasant odor, provokes a lack of appetite, rapid fatigue, irritability, sometimes accompanied by a vomiting of

. If the appearance of a symptom is associated with stomach disease and esophageal injury, the burning can be quite intense, and the pain is given under the scapula or to the lefthand. If among accompanying pathologies there are lung diseases, then the appearance of heartburn is complicated by attacks of a painful cough.

Regular casting of the contents of the stomach into the esophagus causes a constant eructation and can lead to the development of dental caries and inflammation of the gums and oral mucosa.

Causes of heartburn

Photo: Fat types of meat

What factors contribute to throwing bile or stomach contents into the esophagus? The main cause lies in various pathologies of the digestive system, which cause disruption of the cardinal sphincter. The causes triggering the mechanism of pathology are:

• Improper diet with predominance of fatty, spicy, sweet food, excessive consumption of carbonated drinks, strong coffee, spices and seasonings.
• Snacks "on the run", fast swallowing food, talking while eating.
• Chronic stress, bad habits, eating food in a horizontal position.
• Too tight clothing( for example, tight jeans, excessive tug-of-war).All this interferes with normal blood circulation, presses on the organs of the abdominal cavity, hinders and disrupts the course of digestive processes.
• Taking some medications that irritate the esophagus( drugs from the NSAID group, antispasmodics, hormones, antihistamines).

In addition, a failure of the digestive functions can trigger a metabolic disorder, obesity or a period of pregnancy. Among the concomitant diseases, accompanied by heartburn, doctors call a hernia of the esophagus, acute forms of gastritis, stomach ulcer and duodenum.

How to get rid of heartburn forever and can it be done at home? If heartburn always excruciates, it is better to first consult with a doctor and undergo a test, since this symptom can indicate serious pathology of the digestive tract. In those cases when heartburn occurs sporadically, with a violation of diet, with it is quite possible to cope on their own.

How to get rid of heartburn at home quickly and effectively?

What if after a meal often heartburn occurs? What actions to take to not feel yourself in the role of a fire-breathing dragon, capable of burning all around with one breath? It turns out that at home you can remove discomfort with simple and accessible methods.

First aid for heartburn

As the immediate measures for an attack of heartburn, you can use the following tools:

Water. Ordinary drinking water for heartburn caused by throwing stomach contents, will help reduce the acidity of gastric juice and reduce burning sensation in the esophagus. It is enough to drink a small sip of a glass of slightly warm boiled water to quickly feel relief.

Activated carbon. This drug is in any home. In case of heartburn, safely get out the first aid kit of activated charcoal and take 1 tablet per 10 kg of weight. You can pre-crush the required number of tablets in powder, stir with water or milk and drink this mixture. Activated carbon is a powerful sorbent, while passing through the esophagus it absorbs excess acids and quickly eliminates burning sensation. Soda food .Apply soda is recommended only for episodic attacks of heartburn. If the characteristic symptoms are excruciated regularly, a constant intake of soda can aggravate the situation and harm the body. To quickly remove the attack of heartburn, enough to dissolve half a teaspoon of soda in a glass of warm boiled water and drink it in small sips. Use of soda to stop heartburn is prohibited during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as in the presence of chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and hypertension.

Tips for the gastroenterologist

With regular heartburn attacks, try to consult your doctor as soon as possible and find out the possible reasons for this condition. If there are no concomitant diseases, follow the simple recommendations that will help to eliminate the unpleasant symptom:

• Adjust the diet, refuse to eat fatty and spicy foods, marinades, pickles, spices and seasonings, strong coffee, alcohol, sweet fizzy drinks. Try not to overeat, because excess food intake increases the likelihood of reflux( throwing stomach contents into the esophagus).
• The last meal should be 3 to 4 hours before bedtime. It is not necessary immediately after a dense supper to go to bed or after a meal to perform work related to leaning forward( washing, washing floors).During the meal do not rush, thoroughly chew food. Try to stop smoking and drinking alcohol.
• Observe the necessary water balance in the body. In day it is necessary to drink not less than 1,5 2 liters of a liquid. Remember that the more water enters the stomach, the lower the concentration of hydrochloric acid and the likelihood of heartburn. During meals, it is recommended to drink warm mineral water without gas.
• Be sure to observe a thorough oral hygiene, promptly treat diseases of teeth and gums and every six months visit the dentist for preventive examination. This is an important condition for good health, as with heartburn, mucosal lesions in the esophagus and oral cavity are possible. As a result, pathogenic microorganisms can accumulate in the gingival pockets, provoke inflammation of the gums and destruction of the tooth enamel( caries).

Medications for the treatment of

At home, you can quickly eliminate heartburn with the help of pharmaceutical products. With this task, medications from the group of antacids perform well. Such agents have an enveloping effect and help neutralize the increased acidity of gastric juice.

The most popular representatives of the antacid group are:

• Almagel,
• Maalox,
• Phosphalugel

They well protect the walls of the stomach and esophagus from damaging factors and eliminate discomfort, relieving heartburn in just 10 minutes.

Phosphalugel and Almagel are released in the form of a suspension with a pleasant taste, which is taken according to the instructions, usually after a meal or when an attack of heartburn occurs. Maalox is produced in the form of chewable tablets, suspension and gel, which allows you to choose the most optimal and convenient option for yourself.

In addition, the doctor can advise for the elimination of heartburn such remedies:

• chewable tablets Rennie and Gastal,
• solution Geviscone,
• Smectu

In addition, prokinetics( strengthening motility of the gastrointestinal tract) and antisecretory agents that reduce the volume of hydrochloric acid, produced by the stomach.

How to get rid of heartburn during pregnancy?

Heartburn during pregnancy occurs in every second woman and is considered a physiological norm. In the early stages, the appearance of a characteristic sensation of burning sensation after eating occurs against the background of hormonal changes in the body, and at the end of pregnancy, heartburn causes fetal pressure on the internal organs( stomach, liver).

1. Everyone knows that during the gestation of a child, medication is not welcome, the more you can not take medicine without prescribing a doctor and self-medicate. Therefore, the future mother will have to adjust the diet and exclude from it foods that cause irritation of the esophagus and can trigger an attack of heartburn.
2. It is recommended to eat frequently( every 3 hours), but in small portions, the food should be high-grade, but at the same time easy. Preference should be given to the dairy-vegetable diet, to eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, to drink low-fat sour-milk drinks.
3. Fat pork and mutton should be replaced with dietary meat( veal, chicken, rabbit).Low-fat fish and seafood are welcome. Of course, do not forget about sufficient fluid intake. You can and should drink mineral water without gas, juices, compotes, fruit drinks, green and herbal teas.
4. Perfectly removes acidic heartburn and nausea water, acidified with lemon. Enough in a glass of warm boiled water squeeze a slice of lemon, add a little natural honey, and a wonderful remedy for alkaline heartburn is ready!
5. You can use milk to combat acid reflux. To eliminate the burning sensation advise to do just a few sips of warm milk. This product has slightly alkaline properties and allows to neutralize the increased acidity.
6. You can take advantage of folk remedies for heartburn, but after consulting a doctor. The fact is that many herbs, decoctions of which are used to eliminate an unpleasant symptom, can increase the tone of the uterus, which creates a danger for the successful course of pregnancy. Therefore, during pregnancy, use any means, even seemingly quite innocuous, is only under the supervision of a doctor.

Folk remedies

If heartburn is not a sign of a disease of the digestive system, but occurs when eating disorders occur, against a background of stress or medication, folk medicine will come to the rescue.

At home, you can get rid of annoying heartburn with simple and time-tested funds. These are vegetable and fruit juices, mineral water, herbal medicinal herbs, honey or ordinary sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds.

Potato juice

This is one of the most simple and effective ways to combat heartburn. In a raw potato tuber, there is a lot of starch, which has the same enveloping properties as many advertised and expensive medicines for heartburn. Therefore, during an attack, do not rush to run to the pharmacy for Maalox or Almagel, but try to remove the unpleasant sensations with the help of potato juice.

Take a pair of large potatoes, peel and finely grate. The resulting mass wring out with a sterile gauze pad, folded into several layers. The resulting juice should be drunk immediately after preparation. To eliminate the attack, enough of 200 ml of this juice.

To prevent possible manifestations of heartburn in the future, it is recommended every morning, before breakfast, to drink a glass of potato juice. Starchy substances protect the esophagus and stomach mucosa from hydrochloric acid and help neutralize burning and other associated symptoms.

Chalk( calcium carbonate)

This substance is also suitable for neutralizing hydrochloric acid. It is permissible to take only food chalk, which does not contain extraneous chemical additives.

Buy it can be in the pharmacy. During an attack, you just chew and swallow a small piece of chalk or pre-heat it in a dry frying pan, then crush it into powder. This powder is recommended to take for prophylaxis by 1/4 tsp.before each meal.

Honey

Natural product has many therapeutic properties - soothes, eliminates inflammation, provides antiseptic and bactericidal action. When digestion processes are disturbed, accompanied by mild heartburn, it is enough to dissolve 1 tsp.honey in a glass of warm boiled or mineral water and drink it in small sips for half an hour before a meal.

If the attacks of heartburn are pronounced, it is recommended to take a mixture of honey with aloe juice. This remedy effectively eliminates alkaline heartburn, accompanied by a sense of bitterness in the mouth. It is enough to mix 50 g of liquid floral or lime honey with the same volume of juice from the leaves of aloe and take this mixture 30 minutes before eating.

Buckwheat

Very effective, affordable and safe, which can be taken even during pregnancy. Buckwheat should be burned in a dry frying pan with a thick bottom until the croup turns dark brown.

After that, the buckwheat should be cooled and turned into a powder with a coffee grinder. To prevent heartburn, it is necessary to take buckwheat powder in a very small dose( at the tip of the knife) before eating, with plenty of water.

Decoctions of herbs

The decoctions prepared from medicinal plants are considered to be excellent means, eliminating heartburn. To this end, use chamomile, root aira, cassia, angelica, gentian. Good effect allows you to get a decoction of mint leaves, anise seeds, fennel or fennel.

Seeds

To eliminate heartburn use slightly dried seeds of pumpkin or sunflower. Do not fry them. Many people prefer this method of fighting unpleasant symptoms, as a handful of seeds can always be taken with them and eaten during the day with the appearance of the first signs of heartburn.

In addition to these tools, there is also a whole list of heartburn recipes that can be used at home, but before using them, be sure to consult a doctor.