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Acid Reflux Treatment During Pregnancy

The weight gain occurring naturally during pregnancy and the increasing size of the baby will exert added pressure on the stomach acids and this would in turn force the stomach contents to rush in to esophagus and thus worsen acid reflux condition of the pregnant women.

Women face a tough time during pregnancy.

For some women, the added woes of acid reflux (or heart burn as it is commonly known) has to be tackled as well. Many of them face this uncomfortable pain and acidic taste in their chest region, throat and in some rare cases even in side their mouth. In many cases, these women never had these problems prior to their pregnancy. Still they have to suffer through this condition during these nine months. Let us go through the reasons for this and a few tips to reduce the uncomfortable condition here:

One reason for the occurrence of heart burn is the hormonal changes occurring in the human body during pregnancy. These hormones softens the woman’s body, and this in turn results in the LES (Lower Esophageal Sphincter) relaxing more often than previously, and that too at inappropriate times. As LES is responsible for holding the stomach acids in place and thus averting acid reflux, this will result in worsening of this painful condition.

The weight gain occurring naturally during pregnancy and the increasing size of the baby will exert added pressure on the stomach acids and this would in turn force the stomach contents to rush in to esophagus and thus worsen acid reflux condition of the pregnant women.

Any use of heart burn medicines during pregnancy should be at the guidance of your physician alone. Never gulp on any over the counter medicines without consulting your physician.

Any commonly used methods to reduce heart burn can provide relief from this condition during pregnancy too. Acid reflux causing food items can cause heart burn during pregnancy too and should be reduced or avoided altogether, if possible.

If you need to bend your body, do so at your knee than your stomach. This would reduce the pressure exerted on your stomach area and hence the chances of acid reflux condition.

Sleep with your head in an elevated position. This can be achieved through the use of extra pillows or elevating the coat itself. This way gravity would help keep the stomach fluids in its place.

Use comfortably fitting clothes so that they don’t exert too much pressure on the stomach area. Any added pressure on your stomach area can elevate heart burn condition during pregnancy.

Make sure that you have your dinner at least four hours prior to bed time. This would help in reducing acid reflux condition.

Small portions of meals at frequent intervals would be best during pregnancy. It is highly recommended to avoid eating big meals. Make sure you eat your food slowly while chewing thoroughly.

Drink lots of water. Make sure you space your water intake all throughout the day. Never drink too much water along with your meals.

Smoking and alcohol consumption are not good during pregnancy. Besides this, these habits are known to worsen the heart burn conditions and hence should be avoided. Consumption of caffeinated drinks and coffee are also known to adversely affect your heart burn condition.

Have You Ever Heard Of Silent Acid Reflux?

People who suffer from this condition may feel discomfort in their throat, may have to cough frequently to clear their throat, may develop problems for their voice box and vocal cords, may feel asthma like symptoms, may feel a sour taste in the mouth etc. If proper and timely medical treatment is not administered, this condition can become serious and may even force you to opt for a surgical cure for the resultant complications.

Silent acid reflux does not cause heart burn as is the normal case with acid reflux or GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease).

Does that make any sense to you? How can it be called acid reflux when it does not have symptoms like heart burn? Even our basic understanding of acid reflux itself is related solely to heart burn.

Acid reflux is usually caused by the stomach acids rushing up in to the person’s esophagus or even in to his or her throat. When the powerful stomach acids burns the throat area or esophagus, the painful heart burn condition occurs. If the acid reflux is occurring in the lower portion of the esophagus, then the heart burn symptoms won’t be felt by the person. The reason for this is the strength of the lower region of the  esophagus to protect itself from the stomach acids. Unlike the upper esophagus area, this area is stronger than the upper region and do not get burned by refluxed acids. Hence the patient will not feel pain typically associated with heart burn. But this form of acid reflux, commonly termed ‘silent acid reflux’ can cause medical problems of varied nature in the longer term.

People who suffer from this condition may feel discomfort in their throat, may have to cough frequently to clear their throat, may develop problems for their voice box and vocal cords, may feel asthma like symptoms, may feel a sour taste in the mouth etc. If proper and timely medical treatment is not administered, this condition can become serious and may even force you to opt for a surgical cure for the resultant complications.

Some of the other proven problems due to silent acid reflux are snoring, sleep disorders etc. Children are also known to suffer from silent acid reflux. One of the major problems associated with this condition is the difficulty in diagnosing the condition early, due to its lack of clear cut symptoms. If you suspect the occurrence of this condition in your kid, you must get him checked with your doctor and understand the nature of the condition. When it comes to your child, never self medicate. Always take the advice of your doctor and follow his or her prescription and gain the desired cure from silent acid reflux.

If treated in a timely manner, silent acid reflux condition can be brought under your control. The treatment methods for acid reflux and silent acid reflux are one and the same. This is because of the similar nature of the cause of the acid reflux and silent acid reflux problems. You will have to make life style changes like eating smaller portions of food at frequent intervals, avoid eating three hours prior to bed time, keep your head in an elevated position while sleeping, reduce excess weight, reduce fatty and fried food items, reduce the consumption of caffeinated drinks and alcohol, stop smoking cigarettes or other similar tobacco products etc. Use of antacids can also play a part in your struggle to escape the serious wrath of the condition.

Weight Gain And Acid Reflux – Are They Related?

The sad truth of the matter is that any weight gain can adversely affect acid reflux. You need not be obese! Even slight weight gain is going to affect your acid reflux condition for the worse.

Obesity is considered as one of the major physiological problems being faced by the modern world.

The severity of this condition is especially true about the western developed world. In these parts, the sudden changes in life style and food habits have caused havoc in many people’s health and lives. Modern man and woman chose to skip the traditional food cooking and opted for the easier, tastier, oilier, unhealthy fast food. Obesity is a natural result of this junk food culture prevailing in the western countries. Does obesity have any relation with acid reflux? Let us go through its effect on this painful condition.

The sad truth of the matter is that any weight gain can adversely affect acid reflux. You need not be obese! Even slight weight gain is going to affect your acid reflux condition for the worse. According to your physician, you may not be even obese yet! Your BMI (Body-Mass Index) can be lower than those of people categorized as obese. Still, you may feel increasingly severe symptoms of acid reflux as you gain added weight.

As the BMI of people increases, even when they are below the obese or overweight category, the severity of acid reflux condition increases for the worse. This has been proven through modern scientific studies conducted by American researchers. In these studies, as the BMI of participants increased, they felt increasing level of discomfort due to acid reflux. The difference in severity of acid reflux condition was significantly worse in participants even while their BMI levels were much lower than those of obese people. In many cases, the study participants belonging to a group whose BMI is a couple of indices higher than others were facing a significantly higher level of discomfort.

The effect of obesity on acid reflux was known for a long time. As obese people have much more fat than others, they may feel much more pressure on their stomach area than others. This can cause more stomach acids to reflux up in to the esophagus and even up to their throat. This constant pressure exerted on their esophageal sphincter can damage the working of this valve like organ and may even affect its functioning in the longer term.

Every one of us knows the effect of obesity on our life expectancy and quality of life. But many of us are ignoring the warnings at the risk of facing diabetes, heart problems etc at a later stage. For such people, the chances of a disease that they don’t have is not going to tempt them to change their life style. But, acid reflux can force them to change their easy going ways. As this painful condition can affect them regularly, many of us might lose a few pounds and stay on the healthier side. Thus, this new found knowledge can be a boon for people, who may not bother about a healthier life style under normal circumstances. The nagging nature of acid reflux can force them to a better style of living and even to an increased life expectancy!