What causes heart burn ?

Question

Do you know of a remedy to get rod of heart burn?
please help

Answer 1

Basically, heartburn is your stomach's digestive acids coming up into your esophagus.

You can treat it with over the counter products (tums, rolaids etc- there are some more advanced otc ones as well)

Certain foods and drinks make it worse- spicy foods, sweets, greasy or heavy meals and coffee are some common things that cause heartburn. Also you may want to try staying upright for a while after meals- if you find that heartburn bothers you when laying down- stay upright for at least 30 mins after eating, or even try elevating your head some while you sleep- it makes it harder for the acid to creep back up.

Answer 2

A guy walks into a doctors office and tells the doctor: “doctor, my hand hurts” without investigating any further the doctor told the guy that he has chronic hand pain syndrome and will prescribe him some very expensive pills and then send him away. A week later the guy tells his friend the whole story and then tells him that his hand feels a little better but still hurts a bit, and that he has diarrhea, drowsiness and chronic headache. The friend asks the guy why his hand hurt in the first place and the guy tells him “well sometimes I hit my hand with a hammer.” Now tell me would it be better for the guy to a) take some pills to get rid of some of the symptoms or b) stop hitting his hand with a hammer. Option a. would be more profitable for the pharmaceutical companies but option b. would be more effective and cost a ton less. It’s the same idea with heartburn; you need to get rid of the cause, not pay your hard earned money to pop an ineffective pill and suffer side effects for the rest of your life.

So, we need to look at the cause of heartburn in order to get rid of it. Lets take a look at what heartburn is. Despite what the commercials say, it is not a disease; it is when concentrated stomach acids reach your esophagus. There are essentially two ways for acid to reach the esophagus: 1) Something has bumped the stomach, which has caused acid to jump up into the esophagus or 2) pressure (from either outside or within the) has forced stomach acid into the esophagus. Sometimes it can be a combination of both, but there are some simple techniques that I’ve found to help prevent either from happening:

Immediate relief:

Drink water. (that means water, not soda, not juice, but pure water) I know it sounds too easy but it helps a ton. Water will wash any acid off of your esophagus and will dilute the acid, which will make it less harmful in the event that it does reach your esophagus (which will happen, it is unavoidable). Water will also give your food more viscosity (the ability to flow), which will help it exit the stomach faster. Be careful though, too much water will dilute your stomach so much that it won’t be able to do its job properly. This means your body will have to make more acid, which increases your chances of getting heartburn. You just need to drink water steadily until it goes away and then stop.

Causes and Prevention:

Obviously, you want to stay away from high fat and deep fried foods (basically any thing that comes from a fast food joint, so don't even go in). These foods take longer to digest and require more acid; which means a much higher chance for heartburn.

Eat more fiber. Among other benefits, fiber helps food go through the digestive system faster, which means its not in the stomach as long, thus reducing the chances of stomach acid reaching the esophagus.

Get rid of body fat. Body fat pressing up against the stomach can put pressure on the stomach, which will give less room in your stomach; and you know what that means.

Stay upright. When your upside down or even sideways gravity will pull acid the wrong way, and into your esophagus. This would include when your sleeping, try putting bricks or something under two legs of your bed to get gravity on your side; no waterbeds either.

Don’t eat three or four hours before sleeping because that’s about how long it takes for the stomach to empty. Plus anything digested while your asleep is going to be turned into fat.

No smoking. Nicotine and other chemicals found in cigarettes irritate the valve between the stomach and the esophagus, not to mention every other organ in your body.

No painkillers. Stay away from Aspirin, Ibuprofen, and anything their in; they will burn your esophagus. if you really need painkillers go for acetaminophen

Other foods to stay away from:

Peppermint. For some people it causes heartburn

Coffee. that includes regular and decaf

Soda. anything carbonated can cause stomach distention and that makes the acid rise

Black pepper or spicy foods. These trigger stomach acid

Alcohol. Like smoking, it can irritate the stomach/esophagus valve.

Even with all these preventative techniques you may still get heartburn; in which case you can just drink some water.

Hope this info helps,

NathaN210

Answer 3

Heartburn can have a lot of causes. Sometimes greasy or spicy food can cause it. Sometimes the cause is a little more serious.
Gastroesophageal reflux is one cause ; acid refluxes into the lower esophagus and causes that awful burning sensation. Erosions in the esophagus is another cause. And heart attacks can mimic heartburn.
Occasional heartburn can be helped with antacids. Persistant heartburn needs to be investigated a little more closely.
Lynne,RN

Answer 4

What cause sheartburn - Being overweight or pregnant creates pressure on the abdomen that weakens the LES. LES: A muscle called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) acts as gatekeeper, opening to let food into the stomach and then closing to keep acid out of the esophagus. Smoking weakens the LES and in addition dries up saliva that helps dilute the stomach acid. Chocolate, alcohol, onions, garlic, and other dietary items cause the LES to relax. Fatty foods have the same effect. Acidic foods like citrus fruits, tomatoes, and coffee increase production of stomach acid. Overeating increases the production of acid, and a large quantity of food creates extra pressure on the abdomen. Tight clothing squeezes the midsection and tends to push stomach contents upward. Lying down after eating allows acid to flow more easily into the esophagus. Self-Care Remedies Eat frequent small meals instead of one or two large ones; this will prevent excess production of stomach acid. Limit problem substances, such as coffee (including decaf), alcohol and fatty foods. A pleasant alternative to coffee after a meal is a cup of warm herbal tea--chamomile, ginger, peppermint, marshmallow, meadowsweet or slippery elm--which has the added benefit of relieving heartburn discomfort. Stay up at least three hours after eating your last meal or large snack before going to bed. Raising the head of your bed several inches will put gravity to use in preventing reflux during the night. Chewing gum can provide short-term heartburn relief by stimulating the production of saliva, which dilutes and flushes out stomach acid. Drinking a glass of lukewarm water after a meal may produce a similar effect. Supplements - Alo vera juice, and Calcium carbonate are helpful.

Answer 5

a number of things can cause it. spicy foods ,over eating , acid reflex, Gall bladder problems, Hiatel Hernia,If it isreally bad go in and get an upper Gi done.I take a prescription drug called previcid for acid reflex. as long as I take my medicine which is an acid blocker I can eat alot of things . stay away from spices and greasy fried foods. over the counter you can take tums which also are high in calcium.I found the previcid works the best only one a day and it seemed like I had to take alot of tums.There are a few over the counter acid stoppers that might work they just arent as strong. The pharmacist will advise you which ones are good to try.If you are taking any prescribed drugs be very careful with over the counter meds. ask your doctor cause some do not mix well and you can get sicker

Answer 6

If you have heartburn once in awhile, I'd say Tums or Rolaids would help. If you have it several times a week, you might have acid reflux. Then you should go see your doctor. He might put you on something (even over the counter) that will take care of it and you could be okay.

Answer 7

Come on I think my 12 year old daughter Know what's the problem without heartburn, a heartburn is simple reaction in your stomach, what you put in, you are stomach simply reacts what you put in , you have small simple acid pumps that make extra stuff, your body might be extra sensitive to that stuff that you are consuming, there is to ways to stop this problem number one way is to reduce acid your stomach the other way is to stop the assayed engine producing extra amount terraced two different medication for each situation

Answer 8

it can be caused by many things including heart and lung problems but it is usually caused by churning stomach acid or pain in the chest muscles. Try something like tums if you believe it is caused by something you ate. muscle relief creams and asprin are good for muscle pains. If the problem becomes persistent seek medical advice from a doctor.

Answer 9

Tums works good unless it's really bad heartburn, or maybe try Zantac or Prilosec. Those are expensive but they stop heartburn for 24 hours.

Answer 10

GO TO WALGREES AND BUY ZANTAC.