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Positional Therapy Offers Treatment Alternative |
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Written by Thomas Green
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Gastrointestinal reflux disease affects millions of Americans daily, but luckily there are a variety of treatments available to help alleviate the illness or fix its underlying cause. These treatments include medications which can inhibit the production of stomach acid or neutralize it, and surgical options to strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter, the weakness of which is the underlying cause of GERD.
In addition to the medication and surgery, there are also a variety of lifestyle changes that are encouraged for GERD sufferers, such as eliminating alcohol and cigarette intake, cutting back on acidic foods and weight loss.
Surgery and medication aren't options for everyone, as many people have pre-existing medical conditions or other health issues that make them poor candidates for surgery, and others may not be able to take the medications prescribed for GERD. Also, behavioral and dietary changes and alternative medicine treatments may only be able to accomplish limited results. Thankfully, there's another ally that GERD sufferers can enlist in their struggle with this illness. |
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Recognizing The Symptoms of GERD |
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Written by Thomas Green
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Gastrointestinal reflux disease, or GERD, is an illness of the upper GI tract that effects about 60 ,million Americans. Of these millions of people suffering the ill effects of this disease, many are elderly, and pregnant women also make up a large percentage of GERD sufferers.
The most common symptom associated with GERD is frequent heartburn, but there are also a number of other symptoms caused by gastrointestinal reflux disease, some of which may even be more serious than the recurrent heartburn GERD is famous for.
GERD is essentially caused by the backflow of stomach acid and food contents from the stomach to the esophagus. These contents are allowed to backflow because of a weakness or deformity in the lower esophageal sphincter, which acts as a valve allowing food to go into the upper stomach from the esophagus, but preventing food and stomach acid from backwashing into the esophagus. Stomach acid is produced by the stomach to help digest food. When the lower esophageal sphincter is not working correctly, food and stomach acid flow back into the esophagus, which does not have the same protective lining that the stomach has, and thus cannot cope with the acid being allowed to reflux there. This causes the esophagus to become very irritated, causing the symptoms of GERD. |
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