Living with and Managing GERD
GERD is quite a serious condition. Every year more and more people are diagnosed
with GERD. This condition has various symptoms and is found to cause
pain and great discomfort in patients. There are numerous ways in
which the condition can be handled. By properly managing the condition
you can make your life easier by reducing the pain and uneasiness.
The type of approach to be made depends on the severity of the condition.
Some people have mild symptoms like heartburn. Such patients can manage the
condition through simple lifestyle changes. All that is required
is altering the diet, cutting out acidic, fatty and spicy foods,
giving up smoking etc. In case you don't find any relief from these
lifestyle changes you may use antacid medicines. These drugs neutralise
the acid content in the stomach and hence provide relief from the
discomfort. When you do not find any improvement, you should consult
your doctor and seek medical help to handle the problem.
When you are suffering from some severe symptoms like lung problems,
an acid suppressing therapeutic trial in combination with histamine
antagonists is given to diminish the acid production in the stomach
and check that there are no other underlying problems. If you find
the treatment effective and no further symptoms are found, this
treatment can be continued for a long term relief from GERD.
When you experience further problems and complications after this
medication, an endoscopic diagnosis is done to have a closer look
at your internal organs. This will show any damage to the oesophagus
caused and also lets the physician know of ulcers and inflammation,
if present.
If the symptoms do not diminish with treatment you may have to
go for some other options. One such option is 24 hour PH testing.
Or you can go for additional drugs such as pro-motility drugs. This
may help you get relief from the severe symptoms. But in case these
fail, the only option available is surgery. Surgery is a highly
effective treatment which is found to cause relief in many patients.
But like any other surgery, this too has a number of complications
and side effects associated with it. Hence before deciding to have
surgery, it is necessary that you know all the risks and complications
that may arise.
With GERD life may seem quite problematic. You'll need to work
to make it easy. Firstly, it is important to avoid eating fatty
and spicy foods which increase the acid production. Also avoid foods
that may not suit your digestive system. Maintain a proper diet
and follow a regular exercise to keep yourself fit. Drinking occasionally
may not be that bad but you'll have to quit smoking as smoking often
adds to acidic content and increases your symptoms. So, you can
live well even when you have GERD provided you learn to live properly.
Acid reflux news on the Web
Treatment of silent acid reflux does not improve asthma in children, NIH study finds ( NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute ) Adding the acid reflux drug lansoprazole to a standard inhaled steroid treatment for asthma does not improve asthma control in children who have no symptom of acid reflux, according to a new study funded in part by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Lansoprazole therapy slightly increased the ... |
Acid reflux drug does not improve asthma symptoms in kids Washington, Jan 25 : Addition of acid reflux drug lansoprazole does not alleviate asthma symptoms or the control of the respiratory illness in children and may even increase upper respiratory infections risk and other adverse events, a new study has revealed. |
Acid reflux drug does not improve asthma in children ( Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health ) A randomized clinic trial conducted by the American Lung Association's Asthma Clinical Group found that the addition of lansoprazole does not improve asthma symptoms or the control of asthma in children and may increase the risk for upper respiratory infections and other adverse events. |
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