Gastritis affects the digestive system significantly. Gastritis is something that affects thousands of people. When your stomach lining is inflamed, you are classified as having gastritis. Inflammation of the stomach lining may not seem significant to you if you don’t understand how crucial a healthy stomach lining is. Stomach lining is what helps you to digest the foods you eat. The lining is where the cells that produce gastric acid are located. If there is inflammation, the cells in the lining do not produce acid at the same rate. Inflammation causes the production of acid and enzymes to decreases, thus making the digestive process strained and difficult.

To fully digest food, the stomach needs to produce enough acid to break the food down into smaller particles. The breakdown of food allows the large and small intestine to extract and utilize the nutrients, proteins and minerals that are found in the food you eat. Without breaking down the food, the digestive process is interrupted. This can cause you to be unhealthy.

Causes

The cause of gastritis varies from person to person. Some people are more susceptible to developing gastritis than others. Causes may include: illegal drug abuse, taking non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen and aspirin, excessive alcohol consumption, stress, eating or drinking poison, infections, disorders, surgery, burns and injuries.

Symptoms

Some people experience symptoms of gastritis while others do not. To make sure that you don’t have gastritis, you need to consult with your doctor. Through blood and stool testing, you may be able to find out if you have it. Some symptoms of gastritis include: bleeding, ulcers, erosions, upper abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, blood in vomit, dark or bloody stool, loss of appetite and indigestion.

Each meal that you eat will be more painful if you don’t get treatment. Treatment for gastritis could be based on the symptoms that you are having and the type of gastritis that you have. Acute gastritis is severe and happens suddenly. Chronic gastritis is more constant. This can take place over an expansive period of time, even for your whole life in some cases. Erosive gastritis causes the least inflammation but possibly the most damage to the stomach lining. It allows stomach acid to erode the lining.

To Treat Gastritis You Should:

• Avoid taking non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin, naproxen and ibuprofen. These drugs are found in several over the counter medications like Advil.
• Take Antacids. Since gastritis reduces the protective mucus between the lining and the acid, you may need an antacid to neutralize the acid. This can also reduce nausea and vomiting.
• Take Histamine 2 Blockers or Antagonist like Zantac and Pepsid.
• Take Proton Pump Inhibitors or PPIs.

Before you make a decision about a treatment plan, make sure to consult with your doctor to discuss the pros and cons of each type of medication. For more information on treatment for gastritis, review The Reflux Remedy Report to get all of your questions answered.

Hiatal hernias happen when a section of the stomach abnormally shifts to another area. The new location could be in the chest area or adjacent to the esophagus. There are also two kinds of hiatal hernias: sliding and rolling. The difference between the two is determined based on the new location of the stomach. Hiatal hernias occur because of a weak diaphragm? When your diaphragm isn’t as strong as it should be, it may open wider than normal and allow the stomach to move up, beyond the diaphragm. It is important for you to become knowledgeable about the warning signs and symptoms of a hiatal hernia. This will allow you to familiarize yourself with this condition so that you can’t try to detect whether or not you are suffering from it. Early detection will enable you and your doctor to get you back to good health.

Hiatal hernia is not something that can be totally diagnosed based on how you feel. Self diagnosis is very hard to do because the symptoms of hiatal hernia may reflect another disease or condition. Often times, signs of a hiatal hernia are very similar to the symptoms of GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Symptoms of GERD may include a burning pain in the throat, chest, regurgitation, hoarseness, and a sore throat. Common physical issues that are associated with a hiatal hernia are pain in the stomach and chest.

Heartburn and chest pain are two of the major signs of hiatal hernia. When stomach acid goes up into the esophagus, this causes irritation. Stomach acid is meant to be used to break down and digest food particles within the stomach. If stomach acid goes outside of the stomach, it essentially will have the same properties and effects. Stomach acid in the esophagus is harmful and corrosive because of the level of acidity. Heartburn doesn’t actually affect your heart. When the stomach acid enters your esophagus and travels upward, you can feel pain in your entire chest and heart area. That is why it is called heart burn.

There are a number of things that you can do to reduce your risk of developing a hiatal hernia.

Lifestyle changes are probably the best way to combat the symptoms of hiatal hernia.

• You can eliminate eating meals a few hours before going to bed.
• You can also eat smaller meals, which causes your stomach to produce lower quantities of stomach acid.
• The type of meals that you eat is also very important when it comes to relieving symptoms.
• Cut back on spicy and high fat foods.
• Reducing your alcohol consumption and cutting out smoking can lower the chances of having a hiatal hernia.
• You should also practice lifting objects with the proper technique and avoid lifting heavy objects in general.

If you think that you may be suffering from a hiatal hernia due to your persistent heartburn, you need to consult with a medical professional. To find out more about hiatal hernia symptoms and what you can do about them, visit www.refluxremedy.com today for more information.