What is the cause of heartburn?
Friday, October 30th, 2009 at
7:40 am
I have been suffering with heartburn for about 2 months. Does anyone know what could be causing it? No daft answers please!!
Filed under: Heartburn Causes
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Heartburn and acid reflux is caused by a faulty muscle at the end of your esophogus, which when functioning properly, closes off and prevents acid from regurgitating back up from the stomach. Many people experience acid reflux when foods or digestive juices escape the stomach and come back up through the esophagus.
Several things can aggrevate symptoms: large meals, eating acidic or spicy foods, not drinking enough water, drinking too much alcohol or caffiene, and obesity.
Eating large meals. increases pressure on the stomach causing the stomach contents to be forced out and up into the esophagus. You will need to give your body at least two hours to digest your food properly. In addition, never ever lie down immediately after eating a large meal. Obesity can also increase abdominal pressure, and your risk of suffering from acid reflux as well. If you are overweight, cutting back on the amounts of food that you eat at each meal, and exercising daily should put you on the right path to helping you shed a few pounds. Acid reflux is caused in some people when the sphincter muscle at the end of the esophagus becomes weak or does not close correctly. Prescription drugs, certain foods, alcohol, and smoking have been known to weaken the sphincter muscles.
Eating too fast can do it. My wife used to do that all the time and have heartburn until I told her off and now she’s eating properly.
Greasy and Fatty foods do it to you pretty bad. I used to have pizza every day and that was horrible as far as heartburn. I swiched to salads for lunch and no more heartburn. You should try it!
heartburn is too much acid in the stomach that creeps up into the gullet and gives you the burning feeling………..it could be something you are eating or drinking………….it’s been going on now for some time so i would visit your GP to put your mindat rest.
Usually too much rich or spicy food. Debbie, try and modify your diet and cut out all the rich stuff and try sticking to "safe " foods.
If this does’nt work then see your doctor. Hope this helps.
Stomach acid (or too much of it) moving up the digestive tract, or in some cases – as with ulcers – digesting the stomach itself. Yes eating to fast or eating certain foods you are intolerant to, such as spicy curries, etc. can cause it, but if you’re getting it frequently, nip to the GP just in case it isn’t an ulcer. When those things burst, you can possibly die (usually through sceptacaemia). If it’s just an occasional heartburn – Zantac tablets are available over the counter and are fantastic, and your GP can prescribe double strength Zantac if it looks like an ulcer. But get it looked at.
Contrary to popular opinion, heartburn is actually caused by too little acid in the stomach (not too much). Here’s a natural cure that is harmless and will work every time. When you suffer from heartburn, take a tablespoon of vinegar. Let it settle, chase with some water. Heartburn gone. If it doesn’t work, take another tablespoon. It works for me every single time.
stomach acid getting into the esophagus
I have been suffering from Heartburn for about a year, but have improved a lot since. Heartburn or pyrosis is a painful or burning sensation in the esophagus, just below the breastbone caused by 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 asthma and chronic cough.
Heartburn actually has nothing to do with the heart; it is so called because of a burning sensation of the breastbone, although some heart problems have a similar sensation to heartburn.
Foods that may cause heartburn:
Alcohol
Coffee, tea, cola, and other caffeinated and carbonated beverages
Chocolate
Citrus fruits and juices
Tomatoes and tomato sauces (such as pizza and pasta sauce)
Spicy foods and fatty foods (including full-fat dairy products)
Peppermint and spearmint
Dry foods such as peanuts
Fatty foods such as ice cream
It can also be psychosomatic, primarily in relation to stress.
Prevention
If heartburn occurs when lying down, raising the head with pillows or sitting up frequently provides relief – although care must be taken to avoid placing continuous strain on the neck. Avoidance of certain foods shortly before bedtime is frequently advised to avoid future attacks.
Medications:
Antacids, H2-receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibitors are used (in that order) to treat heartburn.
Antacids
Daily treatment with Antacids is effective for 25-30% of people with GERD. Acid-blocking medications are the most effective for mild forms of the condition.
Water
Some have suggested that drinking a large glass of water dilutes the high ph levels in the stomach(since water has an average ph) and allows the pain to temporarily subside.
H2-receptor antagonists
With the advent of proton-pump inhibitors, H2-receptor antagonists are not widely used.
Proton-pump Inhibitors
Proton pump inhibitors are a class of medications which can be effective for people who do not respond to antacid or acid blockers. Proton-pump inhibitors directly block acid production in the stomach cells and provide more effective relief than less powerful medications. In order to prevent heartburn the medication disfigures and disables the proteins (proton pumps) that control the pH of the stomach, allowing the body to digest them.
Restricting Diet
Restricting diet is very important, since 90-95% of sufferers of heartburn or esophageal disorder can link their symptoms to specific foods. Therefore, it is important that heartburn sufferers manage their diets as a way to treat their heartburn. Sufferers should choose the kinds of foods and drinks which have little risk of causing acid reflux, while some kinds of foods or drinks should be avoided as they are major heartburn triggers.
Hope this will be of help to you. Happy healing..!
yes, it’s due to excess acid in the stomach creeping up in your food tube (esophagus) thus causing the characteristic chest pain. you may also experience some epigastric pains, bitter taste in the mouth especially in the morning upon waking up, and burping among others. the treatment for this condition is antacid medications such as maalox, ranitidine, omeprazole and the likes. and to accompany these drugs is diet modification. you should avoid taking in coffee, softdrinks, acidic foods and have small but more frequent meals to keep the acidity level low. and also, have your meals eaten way before you recline in bed (about 3 hours or so). hope i helped.
too much acid in your system…
you should see gp first , it could be a hiatus hernia , or whatever it is the doc will help give u something for it, avoid spicy and fatty stuff and too much alcohol, dont eat late at night.
Reflux. Small amounts of tummy acid which come back through the valve that is supposed to keep the food and acid in your stomach. First stop. The pharmacy. But i would call and see the Dr just in case it is something more serious nobody on here knows your medical history so get it checked just to be safe.good luck
Heart burn is a discomfort or pain caused by the stomach contents traveling up from the stomach up into the gullet (lower part of your esophagus). The gullet is not made to withstand acid and is irritated and inflamed when acid from the stomach travels up into it.
Sometimes the pain caused by heart burn can also be felt in the mid-line of the back.
Heartburn has nothing to do with the heart. Heart burn is a digestive problem. Heart burn is usually related to meals and posture and can often be relieved by remedies for indigestion. Most people suffer from heart burn at one time or another during their lifetime.
If you have heartburn, you might have a bitter taste in your mouth from stomach acid.
Heart burn is also called reflux oesophagitis.
Hope this helps.
I believe that it’s to do with eating too quickly, so as the food is going down, with lots of ‘air’ hence heartburn.
I get acid reflux ,the pain is just like a heart attack ,I think it depends on what you eat ,fatty foods will start it off or fizzy drinks,I find
hi there. i suffer with heartburn alot. ive been on the slimming wold diet for a couple of months now, and i have to say that cutting right down on fatty, rich foods, and carbohydrates has worked wonders! i havent had heartburn once.
good luck. and if all else fails, get some chewable gaviscon tabs to carry round with you!!!
ARE YOU SERIOUS? STOMACH ACID
YOU GET AN ABUNDANCE IF IT WHEN YOUR PREGANT – TRY AN ANTACID FROMT HE dR /SUPERMARKET OR CHEMIST
reflux
spicy foods or fatty foods. You can get good remedies at the chemist
Many causes. Prop your bed up 4 inches at the head end.
eating fatty foods or your body can’t tolerate certain foods.
i find that when i eat chips or pastry i get heartburn.
i found gavisgone works well for me.
Greasy or spicy foods, eating too much, eating too late, eating too fast. Are you pregnant, this is something which is common during pregnancy.
it can’t be heartburn must be something else.
Go to the doctors