are hiatial hernias painful?

Question

are hiatial hernias painful?

Answer 1

No, but they can cause stomach aches because the stomach starts creating acid while you are eating. The hernia slows down the food on the way to the stomach. I used to eat papaya enzyme pills before I ate solid foods to minimize the effect of the stomach acids.

The good news.... mine healed itself after several years.

Answer 2

I don't believe so, this type of hernia is internal. Symptoms are belching, lots of gas/air to release, fullness in abdomen which can be painful. The hernia is at the top of the stomach, the acids and gases in your stomach back up into it causing the above reactions.

Answer 3

Hiatial Hernia surgery is very safe nowadays. My cousin got her Hernia and colostomy surgery in India by a company called Forerunners Healthcare .The Price for Minimal Invasive and Laparoscopy surgery is very less in India. She paid 25% of the cost she was quoted in America.

Forerunners Healthcare is very famous in India. They arrange Hernia, Appendectomy, Thyroid and other laparoscopy surgery for foreigners in India.
I read a lot about them in the Newspapers and about their patient stories. They arrange financing for USA, Canadian, UK and other international patients who plan to have surgery abroad for low price, as the Hernia, Colostomy and other minimal invasive surgery is not covered by insurance. They also have photos pasted of their International patients. You can checkout their website. There are huge cost savings. As a doctor I personally believe that surgery can be easily handled in India, as the quality of healthcare available In India is simply best in the world. The surgeons are USA/UK trained and facilities are 5 star.

http://www.forerunnershealthcare.com
Hope this helps.

Answer 4

You would be experiencing a feeling of indigestion or heartburn pretty regularly and it can be painful. Get some meds. Left untreated, it has been linked to cancer of the esophagus.

Answer 5

in basic terms because its on your right facet does no longer exclude heart issues. I had a ninety 8% blockage and my discomfort began with capturing discomfort down my right arm and that i felt like i could not raise my arm it damage so undesirable. bypass see your healthcare professional or more effective perfect yet when you're in discomfort now bypass to the ER today! perfect desires.

Answer 6

Patients can have reflux without a demonstrable hiatal hernia. When a hernia is present in a patient with symptomatic GERD, the hernia may worsen symptoms for several reasons, including the hiatal hernia acting as a fluid trap for gastric reflux and increasing the acid contact time in the esophagus. In addition, with a hiatal hernia, episodes of transient relaxation of the LES are more frequent and the length of the high-pressure zone is reduced. The main symptoms of a sliding hiatal hernia are those associated with reflux and its complications.

No clear correlation exists between the size of a hiatal hernia and the severity of the symptoms. A very large hiatal hernia may be present with no symptoms at all. Some complications are specific for a hiatal hernia.

* Esophageal complications

o By far, the majority of hiatal hernias are asymptomatic.

o Often, patients are left with the impression that they have a disease when a hiatal hernia is diagnosed.

o In rare cases, however, a hiatal hernia may be responsible for intermittent bleeding from associated esophagitis, erosions (Cameron ulcers), or a discrete esophageal ulcer, leading to iron-deficiency anemia. The prevalence of large hiatal hernias in patients with iron deficiency anemia is 6-7%. This particular complication is more likely in patients who are bed-bound or those who take nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Massive bleeding is rare.

* Nonesophageal complications

o Incarceration of a hiatal hernia is rare and is observed only with paraesophageal hernia.

o When this occurs, it can present abruptly, with a sudden onset of vomiting and pain, sometimes requiring immediate operative intervention.

Physical: The physical examination usually is unhelpful. Certain conditions predispose to the development of hiatus hernia. These include obesity, pregnancy, and ascites.

Causes:

* Predisposing factors include the following:

o Muscle weakening and loss of elasticity as people age is thought to predispose to hiatus hernia, based on the increasing prevalence in older people. With decreasing tissue elasticity, the gastric cardia may not return to its normal position below the diaphragmatic hiatus following a normal swallow. Loss of muscle tone around the diaphragmatic opening also may make it more patulous.

o Hiatal hernias are more common in women. This may relate to the intra-abdominal forces exerted in pregnancy.

o Burkitt et al suggest that the Western, fiber-depleted diet leads to a state of chronic constipation and straining during bowel movement, which might explain the higher incidence of this condition in Western countries.

o Obesity predisposes to hiatus hernia because of increased abdominal pressure.

o Conditions such as chronic esophagitis may cause shortening of the esophagus by causing fibrosis of the longitudinal muscles and, therefore, predispose to hiatal hernia. However, which comes first, the hiatal hernia worsening the reflux or the reflux-induced shortening of the esophagus, remains unknown.

o The presence of abdominal ascites also is associated with hiatal hernias.

* Diaphragmatic hernias may be congenital or acquired. Acquired hiatal hernias are divided further into nontraumatic and traumatic hernias. The most common types of hernias are those acquired in a nontraumatic fashion. Hernias acquired in a nontraumatic fashion are divided into 2 types, (1) sliding hiatal hernia and (2) paraesophageal hiatal hernia. A mixed variety with coexisting sliding and paraesophageal components is possible.

o Sliding hiatal hernia by far is the most common type of hiatal hernia. It occurs when the gastroesophageal junction, along with a portion of the stomach, migrates into the mediastinum through the esophageal hiatus (see Image 1). The majority of patients with demonstrated hiatal hernias are asymptomatic. This type of hernia interferes with the reflux barrier mechanism in several ways. As the LES moves into the chest, it no longer is exposed to positive intra-abdominal pressure and, therefore, is less effective as a sphincter. In fact, the sphincter moves into an area of low pressure, which interferes with the sphincter activity. In addition, the widening hiatus affects the competence of the diaphragmatic crura. The angle of His is lost, making regurgitation of gastric contents more likely. These changes not only predispose to reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus, but also prolong the acid contact time with the epithelium of the esophagus.

o In paraesophageal hernia, also called rolling-type hiatal hernia, the widened hiatus permits the fundus of the stomach to protrude into the chest, anterior and lateral to the body of the esophagus; however, the gastroesophageal junction remains below the diaphragm (see figure 3 of Image 1). This causes the stomach to rotate in a counter-clockwise direction. As the hiatus widens, increasing amounts of the greater curvature of the stomach and, sometimes, the gastric-colic omentum, follow. The fundus eventually comes to lie above the gastroesophageal junction, with the pylorus being pulled towards the diaphragmatic hiatus. In this type of hernia, the anatomic relation of the stomach to the lower end of the esophagus (angle of His) tends to remain unchanged, so gross acid reflux does not occur.