Sunday, October 4, 2009

Two Approaches to Acid Reflux Cure

By John Walker

While there may be no single acid reflux cure that works for everyone, there are enough treatment options that everyone can expect to get relief with a little bit of effort.

Acid reflux simply means that acid from the stomach backs up (refluxes) into the esophagus. Since the esophagus isn't meant to handle the acid the reflux causes damage and the burning pain we experience as heartburn.

An acid reflux cure, therefore, should either prevent the acid from backing up in the first place or neutralize the acid so doesn't causes damage if reflux does happen.

Episodes of reflux often triggered by eating. Sometimes it's the particular type of food, such as acidic foods. Other times it's the volume of food a person eats that creates the problem.

Common sense tells you that eating small meals and staying away from common trigger foods such as tomato sauce well prevent problems.

Another mechanical factor to remember is gravity. If you're sitting upright or standing, the stomach content has to go uphill to reflux into the esophagus. On the other hand if you lie down when you stomach is full, it's much easier for the stomach acid to flow into the esophagus.

This is why reflux often causes the most problems at night. In addition to avoiding eating shortly before going to bed, using an acid reflux wedge pillow maybe all you need to eliminate the problem

Aside from reducing the reflux itself, and other acid reflux cure is to neutralize the acid so it doesn't damage the esophagus if reflux does occur. The first medications to do this were antacids. These are either liquid or tablets that you swallow. And they act to chemically neutralize the stomach acid.

Newer medications, such as Pepcid, work by preventing acid from being produced in the first place.

This is just a brief summary of possible acid reflux cures. There's a lot more you can learn and I suggest that you do. Information applied is power, and more you know the better off you'll be.

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