Unfortunately, people with reflux disease often know the burning sensation radiating towards the throat far too well: Heartburn is one of the main complaints.
Reflux disease can be stressful: belching, frequent heartburn, difficulty swallowing, burning in the throat, stomach noises.
The list of possible symptoms is even longer than this list.
This restricts those affected in everyday life.
Often they can no longer enjoy food and drink and sleep poorly because of the discomfort.
What helps?
So much in advance: There is no one single solution.
But there are different approaches that sick people can try, according to the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care on the “Gesundheitsinformation.de” portal.
In reflux disease *, the closure at the junction between the esophagus and stomach does not work properly - muscles actually keep it closed.
If the mechanism is disturbed, gastric juice can flow back into the esophagus and cause problems.
Heartburn?
Lifestyle changes are worth trying
Does it help to cut out certain foods, to stop smoking or to give up alcohol?
All of this can be worth a try, it says on the portal.
But:
Whether and how changing behavior helps against heartburn and acid regurgitation has not been well researched.
Coffee *
, chocolate, fatty or spicy foods, citrus fruits or carbonated drinks
are among the foods that can cause symptoms.
It is worthwhile to watch this closely and adjust your diet if necessary.
However, there is no general guarantee that the symptoms will change as a result of a change in eating habits.
The same goes for losing weight. This is often advised to overweight people with reflux disease.
Reason: The extra pounds could press on the esophagus and stomach, among other things, which may interfere with the closure at the end of the esophagus.
However, the experts counter: Even thin people who tend to eat low-fat could have reflux and heartburn.
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To avoid reflux symptoms at night, it may be worth trying to avoid
late meals
or to raise the upper body while sleeping.
Another tip for testing: Turn on the left side - then the stomach lock is on top.
Drugs and surgery for heartburn
If changes in lifestyle do not bring about improvement, medication could be a way of improving the symptoms.
If this is not successful either,
anti-reflux surgery is
an option.
This involves placing part or all of the stomach around the esophagus.
According to the portal, there are indications that those who have been operated on feel less restricted by heartburn and reflux than people who take medication.
But this can only be said for the first year after the operation.
It has not been well investigated whether the procedure also performs better in the long term compared to medication.
And: Just as the drugs can have side effects, undesirable consequences are also possible during the procedure - these include, for example, difficulty swallowing.
(dpa) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA.