New heartburn symptoms?
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at
12:14 am
Last weekend I spent 2 nights smoking and drinking heavily with my friends. I woke up with heartburn the last morning and I have had it pretty much every morning since then. It feels like there is still food in my throat when I drink or eat. Most of the day I don’t even notice it but it’s especially irritating in the morning.
I have quit smoking for a week and just got over strep throat (which also started after last weekend). Is all of this linked somehow? I have never had consistent problems with heartburn.
Filed under: Heartburn Symptoms
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Try TUMS for two days. If you get no improvement, see your family physician.
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Heartburn or pyrosis is a painful and burning sensation in the esophagus, just below the breastbone usually associated with regurgitation of gastric acid. The pain often rises in the chest and may radiate to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw. Heartburn is also identified as one of the causes of chronic cough, and may even mimic asthma. Despite its name, heartburn actually has nothing to do with the heart. It is so called because of a burning sensation of the breastbone where the heart is located although some heart problems do have a similar sensation to heartburn. Compounding the confusion is the fact that hydrochloric acid from the stomach comes back up the esophagus because of a problem with the cardiac sphincter, a valve which misleadingly contains the word "cardiac," referring to the cardia as part of the stomach and not, as might be thought, to the heart.
Relief is often found by raising the head of the bed, raising the upper body with pillows, or sleeping sitting up. Avoid pillows that raise the head only, as this does little for heartburn and places continuous strain on the neck. Eating a big meal causes excess stomach acid production, and attacks can be minimized by eating small frequent meals instead of large meals especially for dinner. To minimize attacks, a sufferer may benefit from avoiding certain foods that stimulate excess acid secretion and/or relax the opening between the stomach and esophagus. Acid fruit or juice, fatty foods, pretzels, coffee, tea, onions, peppermint, chocolate, or highly spiced foods are to be avoided, especially shortly before bedtime. While there are clearly other health-related benefits associated with dietary interventions a zealous recommendation for dietary restrictions is not evidence-based, and there is stronger support for reducing the symptoms of acid-reflex found in behavioral changes such as eating less and elevating your head while sleeping. Tight clothing around the abdomen can also increase the risk for heartburn because it puts pressure on the stomach, which can cause the food and acids in the stomach to reflux to the LES.
Below is a website I found interesting, you might as well.