Which Antacid Works the Best?
Heartburn is a condition characterized by a burning feeling in the chest and a sour or bitter taste in the mouth. Heartburn usually develops when the acidic contents of the stomach flow back, or regurgitate, into the esophagus, the muscular tube that carries food from the throat to the stomach. Approximately one in ten adults experience heartburn once a week. Heartburn is more common in pregnant women because of the pressure the expanding uterus exerts on the stomach.
When you swallow, the lower esophageal sphincter, a circular band of muscle around the bottom part of your esophagus, relaxes to allow food and liquid to flow down into your stomach. When it relaxes at the wrong time, stomach acid flows back up into your esophagus, even though you're in an upright position. The acid backup is worse when you're bent over or lying down.
Some factors that can cause the sphincter to relax abnormally include:
 Fatty foods
 Chocolate, caffeine, onions, spicy foods, mint and some medications
 Alcohol
 Large meals
 Lying down soon after eating
 Tranquilizers, such as benzodiazepines including diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax)
 Theophylline (Slo-Bid, Theo-Dur), an asthma medication
 Being overweight
 Hiatal hernias
 Oral contraceptives
 Heart medications
The amount of gastric juice produced by the stomach varies from person to person. People that produce more gastric acid are referred to as ‘hyper secretors’. People that produce less gastric acid are known to be ‘hypo secretors’. Antacids can also be used to help heal duodenal ulcers. These ulcers occur in the upper part of the intestines. They can also be combined with other medications to help treat gastric ulcers and acid reflux.
Heartburn is generally diagnosed with a complete description of the symptoms. In severe cases, a physician may order a barium X ray of the stomach and esophagus to rule out other problems. A physician may also examine the esophagus with an endoscope, an instrument that can view the interior of the digestive tract, and take tissue and fluid samples.
There are several treatments for heartburn. In mild cases, over-the-counter medications such as antacids can ...
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...mg of Simethicone. This helps prevent gas. The inactive ingredients are butylparaben, carboxymethylcellulose sodium, flavor, hydroxypropyl methycellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, propylparaben, purified water, saccharin sodium, and sorbitol.
Mylanta contains all of the same ingredients as Maalox in the same amounts except for that it does not contain saccharin sodium. In a day, no more than 24 teaspoonfuls can be taken.
If you don’t want to take antacids for heartburn, there are lifestyle changes that you can make. Quitting smoking or losing weight can alleviate or prevent heartburn. Sleeping with the head of the bed elevated 6 in helps prevent the stomach's contents from flowing back into the esophagus. Going to bed on an empty stomach, and cutting back on consumption of alcohol, fat, chocolate, and peppermint also can prevent heartburn. Finally, eating smaller and more frequent meals is another way that you can prevent heartburn.
Bibliography
www.encarta.msn.com/find/concise.asp?ti=761575197&sid=3#s3
“Digestive System”. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 1999.
“The Stomach”. Student Reference Library. 1997
q Heartburn: occurs when acid content from the stomach backs up into the esophagus. If a person has hiatal hernia they may experience heartburn.
bottom edges are not tightly shut, and acid moves form the stomach up into the
•Jose symptoms is derived from a disorder called Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurring in the digestive system with the consumption of food, irritating the esophagus generally causing notable clinical symptoms such as the following: vomiting, chronic cough, angina, & regurgitation immediately after the consumed food. Jose's experience of the lump in his throat is caused by esophageal sphincter pressure.
Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) describes a painful sensation of the tongue, lips or palate. It also may involve a general sensation of discomfort of the whole mouth.
In this article, you are informed about a disease that is occurring more often in our society. It is commonly referred to as “heartburn” but is more appropriately named acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Most people suffer from this disease, but think nothing of it. Perhaps they have felt it after a big meal, lying down after eating, during pregnancy, or even when bending over. Most people feel that GERD occurs after eating spicy foods, when in fact the major cause of GERD is fatty foods and the quantity of foods eaten.
Esophagus: Esophagus is a long straight tube which connects the pharynx to the stomach. Once the food has been reduced to a soft mush, the tongue pushes it to the throat which leads to a long straight tube called esophagus. The esophagus squeezes the mass of food with rhythmic muscle contraction called peristalsis which then forces the food to the stomach.
Oxygen is vital to a beating, healthy heart because it is needed to perform cellular respiration in order to pump the blood. When there is no oxygen being transported to the heart, the heart cannot pump blood, and eventually after being inactive, the heart tissue dies . This results in a heart attack. Heart attacks can be diagnosed before it is too late. One method of diagnosis is through a blood test. Blood tests are capable of sorting through the material found in blood, and if heart cell contents are found in the specimen, a heart attack can be diagnosed. If the levels of the cell contents are higher, this signifies that the heart attack is more severe. Another method of diagnosis is an electrocardiogram (ECG). An ECG measures the rhythm of the heart in order to detect defects. There are many other strategies that are used by doctors in order to diagnose a heart attack, such as chest x-rays, stress tests, tilt table tests, and echocardiograms, to name a few. A myocardial biopsy involves looking at the heart cells, and is accomplished by collecting a sample of heart cells from the patient. If the results are positive, a heart attack is diagnosed. A heart MRI involves looking at images of the heart in order to detect heart failure. The doctor uses the images to look for disorders in the structure of the
Acute means to happen suddenly. There are many symptoms of a heart attack. The most typical symptom is chest pain. The other symptoms can range from, mouth pain, headache, trouble breathing nausea, vomiting, sweating, heartburn, pain in left arm, or no symptoms at all! Make sure the victim avoids excessive movement and is calm to keep symptoms steady. A healthcare provider helps diagnose a heart attack based on the patient 's medical history, an electrocardiogram to look for abnormalities the heart and blood testing for abnormal enzymes levels in blood. For immediate treatment you will be put on a heart monitor and given oxygen and IV line filled with nitroglycerin and morphine to reduce pain. Abnormal heartbeats are treated electric shocks and most likely medicine. Some patients may also have need to have heart bypass surgery to open blood vessels that supply blood to the heart. This procedure is called open heart
...ve eaten, to break down the food into a liquid mixture and to slowly empty that liquid mixture into the small intestine. Once the bolus has entered your stomach it begins to be broken down with the help of the strong muscles and gastric juices which are located in the walls of your stomach. The gastric juices are made up of hydrochloric acid, water, and mucus- and the main enzyme inside of your stomach is what is known as pepsin, which needs to be surrounded in an acidic setting in order to do its job, that is to break down protein. Once the bolus has been inside of your stomach for long enough it begins to form into a liquid called chyme, and what keeps the chyme from flowing back into our esophagus are ring shaped muscles known as sphincters located at the beginnings and ends of the stomach and they have the task of controlling the flow of solids and liquids.
People do not particularly enjoy things that don't taste or seem very good. Gastroenterologists should allow patients to pick and choose out of the medicines that best fit to their needs. The physician should always allow the choice as a possibility though in case it is necessary.
Imagine you are eating a sandwich containing wheat bread, ham, lettuce, and Swiss cheese. Do you ever wonder where the nutrients go from all of the previous listed ingredients? Well, when a bite of this sandwich is taken, the mouth produces a saliva enzyme called amylase. This enzyme immediately goes to work by breaking down the carbohydrates that are in the bread. Once, the bite is completely chewed, the contents then are swallowed and go down the esophagus and begin to head towards the upper esophageal sphincter and the is involuntarily pushed towards the stomach. The next passage for the sandwich is to go through the lower esophageal sphincter; which transports the sandwich into the stomach.
Heart attacks are known in the medical community as myocardial infractions. Some of the most common symptoms or warning from a heart attack may include chest discomfort due to an uncomfortable pressure, fullness, squeezing or pain in the center of the chest (angina). Another symptom is the discomfort in other areas of the upper body because of pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach. The next one is shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort. Lastly, there are other signs such as nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness or cold sweat. There are some cases when these symptoms are not present or the person is considered to be healthy and a heart attack can strike without any warning sings. (Causes,
(Antacids help neutralize stomach acidity, which can cause heartburn.)” (Science Buddies, Carbonation Countdown: The Effect of Temperature on Reaction Time). To take the Alka-Seltzer tablet you have to dissolve it in water causing a chemical reaction to form and the whole solution begins to fizz. The fizz occurs
* Aloe vera plant contains laxative properties, which is effective in relieving digestive tract problems, like stomach aches and heartburn.
·Aspirin (salicylic acid acetate) is an anti-inflammatory (decreases swelling and inflammation), anti-pyretic (fever reducing), and anti-platelet (decreases platelets in the body to thin blood). Many heart treatment patients take an aspirin a day to prevent blood clotting. However, if aspirin is taken in large quantities over long periods of time, it may cause gastric ulcers or other internal damage. The molecular formula of aspirin is C9H8O4. Some examples of Aspirin are Bayer, Ecotrin, and Aspergum.