Hiatal hernia is not a condition that is well accepted by the medical community, but affects an estimated 15 percent of Americans, though the actual numbers are suspected to be much higher. Most people suffering from Hiatal hernia aren’t aware of it, and may attribute the symptoms to things that are far more innocuous. A Hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach, in whole or in part, protrudes up through the natural opening in the diaphragm called the hiatus.

Causes of Hiatal hernia are many, and easy to overlook. Lying down sooner than 3 hours after eating, smoking, drinking alcohol, consuming refined sugar, placing strain on the abdomen, using poor posture and improperly lifting heavy weight, can all contribute to the development of a Hiatal hernia.

When the stomach is capable of changing positions and moving up and down through the hiatus, this is called a sliding Hiatal hernia. With proper awareness, care and effort, this can potentially be corrected. A Hiatal hernia can take on a malignant and dangerous form, however, called a strangulated or paraesophageal Hiatal hernia. This is where the stomach becomes stuck in the hiatus and cannot move back down. In some cases, blood flow may be entirely cut off from the portion of the stomach that is stuck above the hiatus. In these cases the condition can be life threatening, and emergency surgery is an absolute must.

Both a sliding Hiatal hernia and a strangulated Hiatal hernia may present similar symptoms, but those of strangulation are much more severe. Symptoms of a strangulated Hiatal hernia usually include severe pain in the chest, nausea and dry heaving and vomiting. It is, perhaps, unsurprising that these symptoms are known as a false heart attack. Other symptoms may include difficulty swallowing, chronic, uncontrollable acid reflux and pain in the stomach. Please be aware that strangulation is a dangerous situation and warrants a trip to the emergency room immediately!

Strangulation means that the blood flow to a portion of the stomach has been cut off, and may cause death of tissues if not taken care of immediately. To repair a strangulate Hiatal hernia, a surgeon will move the stomach back down to the proper location and stitch the hiatus closed around the esophagus. Unfortunately, a great number of people experience further or worsened problems after this surgery due to internal scarring.

Obviously, the best policy for dealing with a strangulated Hiatal hernia is to avoid getting it in the first place. Avoid lying down immediately after eating. Try to keep from drinking liquids, especially cold ones, half an hour before, during and after meals. Learn the proper way to lift weight, prevent strain on the abdomen and make an effort to maintain good posture. Make certain to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetable, use lots of spices like cinnamon, turmeric and cayenne, and consider taking digestive enzymes. It is also important to avoid stress, as it tends to make the body’s muscles tight and prone to injury, and avoid straining during bowel movements.

Find out everything you need to know about strangulated Hiatal Hernia by visiting Reflux Remedy at refluxremedy.com today!

Heartburn and acid indigestion plague millions of people worldwide. But, for someone who is experiencing it for the first time, it can be difficult to identify the symptoms of heartburn. So, what are some of the acid indigestion symptoms, what causes these symptoms, and how can they be prevented?

Symptoms

Symptoms of acid indigestion can be scary if you don’t know what they are. Chest pain is a main symptom; however it is different than that of a heart attack. Heartburn pain is often described as a burning sensation that radiates from the abdomen up into the chest and neck. A heart attack can feel like a weight on your chest, pain, and pain or numbness in your arm. It’s important to know the difference between these two symptoms and react accordingly.

Other symptoms of acid indigestion include reflux, or acid making it all the way up to your mouth, burping, hiccups and an overall feeling of indigestion.

Causes

These symptoms are a result of either acid overproduction, or acid being allowed into your esophagus, which can have a number of root triggers. They include daily habits, food and food consumption, and stress, among others.

Daily habits often cause acid indigestion. Something as simple as lying down right after eating isn’t good for digestion, and can easily result in heartburn. This is because when you’re in a horizontal position, acid is allowed to move freely through your stomach and esophagus. So, if you’ve just eaten, there may be acid and even food left in your stomach when you lie down. That means it’ll end up in your esophagus and cause acid indigestion if you don’t stay up for a bit longer. To avoid this, try eating no less than two hours before meals.

Food and how much of it you eat are huge triggers of heartburn and acid indigestion. Things like garlic, onions, caffeine, alcohol and citrus are common triggers, but you may have your own unique things that set you off. Keep track of what you eat so that you can easily point to your own acid indigestion culprits. Additionally, eating too much food at any one time can cause heartburn. This is because the body can’t process the sheer volume of food, and goes into overdrive of acid production. That creates a pressure buildup and causes indigestion and discomfort. In order to avoid this, try eating smaller meals more frequently. That will help your stomach more easily digest what you do give it, and keep indigestion at bay.

Stress is also a big indigestion trigger. It’s known to increase acid production, which can result in heartburn and discomfort. So, do things that will help you to relax. Listen to soothing music, take deep breaths, read a book, exercise, practice some yoga, whatever you need to do to help you calm down. It will help you prevent acid indigestion later in the day if you squash stress at its source.

Prevention

Preventing acid indigestion is easier than you may think. Simple things like altering your daily habits and food intake as stated above can majorly help improve your quality of life when it comes to heartburn. However, there are plenty of other things you can try to keep heartburn at bay.

• Papaya tablets can help you to more easily digest your food, and keep acid production down to a healthy level. Papaya contains digestive enzymes that help break down your food and make it more digestible.
• Eating an apple before or after a meal can also help to keep heartburn at bay.

These are just a few of the natural prevention techniques found in The Reflux Remedy Report. The report contains hundreds of holistic methods for keeping your foods down where they belong.

For more information on acid indigestion symptoms and how to prevent them, visit refluxremedy.com today.

You have muscles that protect you from one of the most dangerous caustic acids in the world?your stomach acid.

Gastric acid, or stomach acid, is so dangerous it can actually burn glass, so imagine what gastric acid is doing to millions of people who suffer from gastric reflux.

Another word for gastric reflux is Laryngopharyngeal reflux.

People, who suffer from acid indigestion, heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) in fact, usually suffer from a mineral deficiency which leads to a gastric acid shortage. The ironic thing is that people who suffer from a gastric acid deficiency are hard to tell from people who suffer from an over production of gastric acid. The root causes are different; however the damaging effects remain pretty much the same.

Before gastric reflux can fully develop, a build-up of gastric acid eventually weakens the muscles that protect the throat and vocal cords from the gastric acid reflux.

The gastric reflux happens because as a result of a gastric acid deficiency the food in the stomach becomes stagnant and piles up to the roof of your rib cage where the muscles of the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) are trying to protect you.

Because of the lack of stomach acid, food remains undigested and goes through a toxic form of fermentation. As these toxins build-up the starving body desperately strives to produce random spurts of corrosive gastric juices. These gastric juices are released at the top of your stomach lining and sit there bubbling and churning away at a massive amount of fatty foods and all the rest of it.

Unfortunately the gastric reflux builds-up in the LES muscles, weakens them and is forced upward. Gradually the same thing happens to your larynx, or voice box, this is the stage defined as gastric reflux.

Basically the flow of gastric acid and powerful digestive enzymes becomes reversed as gastric acids are allowed to reflux upward . . . chemically basting the once sensitive lining, tissue and muscles of your throat, voice box and mouth area.

This degenerative process is also called GERD, or gastro-esophageal reflux disease. It is from the build-up of gastric acid in your larynx which causes Laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPR).

When LPR is persistent enough it can cause a non-cancerous growth on the back of your vocal cords, called a granuloma.

Symptoms of LPR can include:

• A choking sensation
• Sore throat
• Voice changes
• A sensation of something caught in the throat
• Frequent coughing and throat clearing
• A sour or bitter taste in the mouth

Those symptoms of acid reflux, acid indigestion and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), such as heartburn, burping and chest pressure are not always experienced as symptoms of gastric reflux, or LPR.

To avoid build-up of gastric reflux on your vocal muscles don?t start treating just the symptoms, learn how to address the root cause.

You were born to heal,

Todd M. Faass?

Health Ecologist