Medium Hiatal Hernia

Medium Hiatal Hernia refers to the size of your specific hernia. A small Hiatal Hernia often presents with no symptoms, while a large Hiatal Hernia can cause frequent heartburn and chest pains. A medium Hiatal Hernia falls somewhere in between.

Hiatal Hernias

A Hiatal Hernia occurs when a portion of the stomach becomes dislodged and encroaches on other parts of the chest cavity, like the esophagus. There are two types of Hiatal Hernias. The more common type, a sliding Hiatal Hernia, involves the stomach passing up through an opening in the diaphragm and displacing the esophagus from underneath. The more severe type is para-esophageal Hiatal Hernia. This involves the upper portion of the stomach moving up and beside the esophagus and putting pressure on it from that position. This type of hernia can cause food to get caught in the esophagus, and result in the formation of ulcers.

Causes

Some people can be born with the tendency to be susceptible to a Hiatal Hernia simply due to an enlarged hiatus. However, sometimes the hernia can happen as a result of heavy lifting, straining during a bowel movement, excess vomiting, or frequent coughing. Although a cause can?t be found for everyone with a Hiatal Hernia, it is thought that added pressure on your stomach due to these factors can result in the injury.

Symptoms

Symptoms of a Hiatal Hernia aren?t many. In fact, often times a Hiatal Hernia doesn?t present with any symptoms, or they are confused with another disorder. Heartburn is the main symptom, which includes a burning sensation in the chest, burping, and a general feeling of indigestion.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) is sometimes associated with a Hiatal Hernia, but it?s difficult to say whether one causes the other. People with GERD often don?t have Hiatal Hernia, and people with hernias don?t have to have GERD. However, because of the dislocation of the stomach, it?s not uncommon for those with Hiatal Hernias to suffer from GERD. GERD?s symptoms are also very similar to heartburn, including nausea, burping, hiccups, a burning sensation in the chest that sometimes radiates up to the neck, and an unsettled stomach.

Treatment

Rarely is surgery necessary to treat a Hiatal Hernia. Often your body just needs time to heal itself. Help this process along by taking a few simple steps:

? Primrose oil and papaya extracts both contain helpful digestive enzymes that will help ease the stress of meal time on your stomach.

? Less is genuinely more when it comes to letting your Hiatal Hernia heal. All you have to do is eat less food more often and you?ll prevent your stomach from getting stressed out from too much food entering it all at once.

? Avoid foods like onions, garlic, caffeine, citrus juices and fruits, and alcohol that are known to cause heartburn. Heartburn and its associated acids can cause further damage and irritate a Hiatal hernia, so try to avoid it at all costs.

A medium Hiatal Hernia should be able to be resolved with minimally invasive treatments. For more information on medium Hiatal Hernias, visit www.refluxremedy.com.