Heartburn: Heartburn is a burning feeling in the lower chest. It affects taste in the mouth. Sour and bitter tastes occur frequently. Heartburn usually occurs after eating a big meal or while lying down. This feeling can last for a few minutes or a few hours. There are causes and risk factors that come into play. When you eat, food passes from your mouth down a tube called the esophagus. To enter the stomach, food has to pass through an opening between the esophagus and the stomach. This opening usually closes all the way once food passes through, but if it doesn’t close all the way, then acid from your stomach can get through the opening and into the esophagus. Stomach acid can irritate or disturb the esophagus and cause heartburn. Factors can add to heartburn to make it worse. Pregnancy, stress and certain foods can also make heartburn worse. Other factors include, smoking, coffee, alcohol, soda or carbonated drinks, citrus fruits, tomato products, chocolate, mints, peppermints, fatty foods, onions, being overweight, and aspirin or ibuprofen. One can take some simple steps to prevent and treat heartburn. Tips on preventing heartburn are, place 6 to 9 inch blocks under the legs at the head of your bed to raise it, try to eat at least 2 to 3 hours before lying down, if you smoke quit, lose weight if you’re overweight, don’t overeat, eat high-protein, eat low-fat meals, avoid tight clothes and tight belts, and avoid foods and other things that give you heartburn. Different kinds of medicine are also helpful to treat heartburn. Antacids destroy the acid that your stomach makes which causes heartburn. H2 blockers like Pepcid, Tagamet, and Zantac reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. Prilosec is another alternative that reduces the acid your stomach makes.…
