What Causes Heartburn and How Can it be Cured?

by Lesley Sampson Freelance Writer

Heartburn is caused by the acidic contents of a person's stomach passing back up into the gullet or oesophagus. It is a very common condition, and the broad causes are simply the intake of excess acid into the digestive system which cannot then absorb it, and attempts to eject this.

Heartburn is most commonly caused by eating a larger amount of food than is usual in any single sitting, or by drinking large quantities of alcohol. So this is clearly why we all see large numbers of advertisements for potions and pills designed to tackle the condition around and at Christmas and holiday times.

Also known as stomach acid reflux, the condition is encountered by most people at some point in their lives. And it is often mistaken for a genuine cardiac condition, as the two types of chest pain which result often feel very similar.

The frequency of incidents of heartburn or acid regurgitation varies widely among different people, and while a mild case can merely cause annoyance, when it becomes serious, it can develop into an inflammation of the mucous membrane. This, in turn, can lead to stomach ulcers, which can then bring about bleeding or chronic anaemia.

But thankfully there are a number of steps which can be taken well before the condition approaches this level of severity. It is caused when food tries to pass back up through the sphincter – a type of one-way valve – in the gullet. A thin sheet of muscle known as the diaphragm regulates what passes into the gullet, and it is when food is trying to pass back through this diaphragm in the wrong direction that the severe instances of heartburn occur.

While heartburn, or increases in its incidence, may have no known cause, several types of food are known to increase the risks of this happening, These include chocolate, coffee, peppermint and alcohol.

Being overweight or pregnant also leaves people more prone to heartburn, as extra pressure in the stomach forces its contents up into the food pipe. Hormonal changes due to pregnancy also often lead to the gullet sphincter relaxing, making it easier for food to travel the wrong way through the digestive system.

Lying down will merely exacerbate the problem, as gravity will not allow the excess food to be easily able to follow its natural path through the body.

Several types of medicine can be used to treat the symptoms of heartburn. Most common are antacids, which are designed to neutralise the acid content of the stomach, and can be taken in tablet or liquid form, and include many well-known and widely-advertised brands.

Many of these medicines contain products known as alginates, which are designed to prevent the stomach from being affected by the acid contained in its contents. Again, several well-known brands work in this way, and are available in a range of widely-available forms and different flavours, to help make taking them as palatable as possible.

Other available products work by preventing the stomach from creating acid, or by ensuring that the food tube and stomach muscles can work as smoothly as possible.

In all instances, a pharmacist will be able to give advice on which type of product is most suitable according to the symptoms which a patient describes to them, and will then recommend from among a long list of available constipation remedies, or medicines which will tackle the most serious of your symptoms.

SOURCES:

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/facts/heartburn.htm#ixzz2HItvsG4c

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heartburn