HIATAL HERNIA

HIATAL HERNIA REFERS to the bulging of a portion of the stomach above the diaphragm. This condition can be caused by a stretching of the diaphragm muscle, which normally fits snugly enough around the esophagus to keep the stomach from pushing up into the chest cavity. Oftentimes a hiatal hernia will cause heartburn. When the hiatal hernia causes all irritation of the esophagus-esophagitis-it may need to be corrected by surgery; but if commonsense natural means are employed, this can often be avoided.

How can you differentiate hiatal hernia from an ulcer? If your symptoms are worse when your stomach is empty, ‘it is more likely to be all ulcer. If your symptoms are worse when you eat and drink too much, when you eat and lie down, or when you eat and bend over, then it’s more likely to be hiatal hernia.

Heartburn and hiatal hernia symptoms can sometimes mimic heart problems. Obviously, you don’t want to mistake a heart attack for heartburn. If you have these other symptoms with heartburn you should immediately get in touch with a doctor or go to a hospital:

• shortness of breath
• light-headedness or dizziness
• pain radiating into your neck and shoulder
• pain when swallowing

If you notice any of these symptoms, get immediate help. Don’t worry about feeling foolish if the emergency room staff tells you it’s only heartburn; it’s better than the coroner telling your survivors that it wasn’t heartburn!

What do you do when you feel that burning in your chest and you know it’s heartburn from hiatal hernia or esophagitis? Most people reach for an antacid, which can help relieve the symptoms. Occasional use of antacids is probably not harmful (though I don’t advocate it, as I prefer to get at the cause of the symptoms). The problem is that many people take antacids constantly and some of these products have ingredients that could potentially be harmful. Many of the most popular antacids contain both magnesium and aluminum. While occasional consumption of these minerals probably won’t do any harm, regular consumption could. Magnesium can cause diarrhea. Occasionally a patient who complains of heartburn and diarrhea will realize, after a consultation, that he is simply taking too much antacid or the wrong kind of antacid.

It’s the aluminum in antacids that I think poses the more serious problem because of the possible link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease. Autopsies on patients who suffered from Alzheimer’s disease have shown much higher than normal concentrations of aluminum in their brains. There’s still controversy about the cause/effect relationship between aluminum and Alzheimer’s, but I think it’s wise to err on the prudent side and avoid regular consumption of anything containing aluminum.

Plenty of antacids on the market are aluminum-free, and many have the extra benefit of adding calcium to the diet. Tums, Tums Extra Strength, Advanced Formula Di-Gel, Chooz, and Titralac tablets and liquid are among the products that I suggest to my patients. And don’t take antacids right after eating. That’s when you need the stomach acid to do its digestive work. Wait about thirty minutes.

A drawback to antacids is they only treat the symptoms, not the underlying problem. There are a number of things you can do to remedy the cause. The first is to eat smaller, more frequent meals. It stands to reason that a smaller meal will produce less stomach acid and is less likely to fill your stomach to the point where acid will back up.

Cutting down on fatty foods will help reduce the amount of stomach acid. Fatty foods remain in the stomach longer than others, thus delaying the emptying of the stomach and allowing for production of more stomach acid.

In addition to fatty foods, certain other foods will increase acid production in your stomach. These foods, including coffee and tea (both decaffeinated and regular), citrus fruits, and tomatoes, should be avoided. Onions are particularly troublesome. People with heartburn often drink milk to try to soothe the burning feeling. But this may be counterproductive; while the milk may feel good going down, it is a fatty food that will cause the stomach to produce a good quantity of acid. Then you’re right back where you began.

Don’t bend, stoop, or lie down right after eating. Many people love to eat a big meal and then collapse on the sofa or in a lounge chair. Some people go to bed right after eating. The problem with this is that your stomach is fighting gravity. You’re much more likely to have acid flushing back into your esophagus when you’re lying down. I had one patient who would wake every night with terrible heartburn. When he told me that he ate dinner at around 10 p.m., I knew the source of his trouble. As soon as he started eating earlier, his heartburn disappeared.

If you tend to get heartburn during the night, elevate the head of your bed by lifting the bed frame two to three inches. By keeping your head higher than your feet, you’ll be helping to prevent the acid from flushing back out of the stomach.

Your sleep position can also promote heartburn. Lying on your right side encourages stomach acid to wash into the esophagus, triggering a burning sensation. Switching to your left side will eliminate the problem.

Stop smoking. We know that smoking releases the tension in the muscle separating the esophagus from the stomach. Because of this, regular smokers are much more likely to develop heartburn than nonsmokers. Drinking alcohol is also likely to promote heartburn. Cut down or eliminate your alcohol consumption. Sometimes taking one or two acidophilus capsules, available at health food stores, can relieve your symptoms. Stress can also aggravate heartburn; learning to control it can help relieve symptoms. Finally, tetracycline and other antibiotics, slow-release potassium, aspirin, and nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can irritate the lining of the stomach. If they’re taken at night, they can irritate the esophagus when you lie down. Ill some patients, they can actually cause gastric ulcer or bleeding.

NATURAL PRESCRIPTION HERNIA AND FOR HIATAL ESOPHAGITIS

• Eat smaller, more frequent meals, and be sure not to eat right before bedtime.
• Cut down on fatty foods.
• Avoid coffee and tea (regular and decaffeinated), chocolate, liqueurs, citrus fruits and juices, onions, tomatoes.
• Avoid bending down or lying down right after eating.
• Elevate the head of your bed two to three inches and sleep on your left side if you tend to get heartburn at night.
• Stop smoking.
• Eliminate alcohol.
• Use methods of stress control.
• Take one or two acidophilus capsules to relieve symptoms.
• Avoid tetracycline and other antibiotics, slow-release potassium, aspirin, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs just before bed. Antacids can help on an occasional basis, but avoid ones that contain aluminum or magnesium. Try Tums, Di-Gel, Chooz, or Titralac, for example.
• Don’t take antacids Immediately after eating. Wait a half hour. Investigate other possible causes of heartburn, such as ulcers, or H. pylori.