How to stop acid reflux?

Q.How to stop acid reflux?

A.The medications like prilosec are very helpful in protecting your esophagus. I lost two relatives to esophageal cancer caused by the damage from untreated acid erosion of the esophagus. Only a physician can evaluate whether you need to be watched for damage. Husband has this, with no health insurance, we have found a few things that do work. Incline the bed,this is very important. Stress makes it worse, use relaxation tecniques, meditation, time spent in prayer, what ever relaxes you. Over the counter meds can help if taken before the burn is bad, once it is there, sometimes chalky liquids like pepto and mylox can help subdue the burn enough to be able to sleep. So, to stop acid reflux: - Start by staying away from the caffeine and fatty foods. - Don't eat within a couple of hours before bedtime. - Loosen up your belt (decreases intrabdominal pressure). - Lose some weight if you're overweight. - You might try putting a couple of bricks under the head of your bed to keep pressure off your sphincter (most folks find this uncomfortable as they end up sliding towards the foot of their bed at night). Love all the medical advice? First things first is to determine if it is from too much or too little acid in the stomach. I know, the common medical assumption is that it is too much, but this is usually not the case as the stomach's production of acid decreases with increased age. This means the older you get, the less acid production you have - thus it is less and less likely from too much acid. To determine if it is too much or too little is a simple test. Next time you have a meal put about 1tsp of apple cider vinegar in with 1tlb of water and sip on it during your meal. If the problem gets worse, you have too much acid. If the problem gets better, too little. This is very much why many patient of mine find drinking a little cheap wine with their meal helps settle the stomach. The idea that your acid reflux is the result of a bacterial infection is like saying an rotten apple is from the fly's swarming around it. Bacteria is only found when the mucus lining in the stomach has thinned and the pH altered enough to allow for the organisms to live, thus causing their appearance. Bacteria does not hang out in healthy parts of our body, only in unhealthy parts. Since this post is on the alternative medicine section - here are some alternative options. First - if too much acid - use a natural basic substance like calcium carbonate - also known as TUMS. Even better is to use some digestive aids called enzymes to help your body break down your food easier and not require so much acid to be needed to turn on the natural enzymes your body makes to help break down the food. If too little acid - then your stomach isn't digesting your food well enough because acid is required to active the stomach enzymes which digest the food. This means the need to eat smaller meals, and add some protease (protein enzyme) in your diet. In addition try a small glass of wine with the meal to assist. The peppermint tea isn't bad either, but is better used for an upset stomach. The reason you still get the reflux, even though it is from lack of acid, is because without the acid the food sits undigested and begins to ferment, which leads to gas build up, which releases into the esophagus - i.e. acid reflux (just without the acid). You can use an antacid to get rid of the gas, but the process will continue to repeat itself over and over because the underlying problem isn't fixed. Last is to try a diaphragm pull. This has been used for decades by many natural health practitioners with much success. The diaphragm is the muscel that the esophagus runs through just before it attaches to the stomach. Often times the stomach will get pulld down, or the diaphragm raised up just enough to not allow for the esophageal sphincter to close tight enough. A simple way of fixing this is to have someone put pull down on the diaphragm while you exhale. Simple inhale, have the person push thier fingertips inward just below the rib cage (both sides), and as you exhale pull snuggle downward towards the feet. If you can find a message therapist or chiropractor who has done this, it will work much better, but still be uncomfortable. Best of wishes. - And as always, if the problem persist, due go see an M.D. to rule out a serious disease - but lets get real. Acid Reflux isn't a disease, its the symptom of poor digestion. If anything, the disease is poor digestion, not the reflux. The only reason they call it a disease is so they can push the purple pill on you.

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