No one wants to live with acid reflux. It may not be the worst illness there is, but it’s certainly no fun. Acid reflux can place serious restrictions on what you can eat, and cause you considerable discomfort. What’s fortunate is that once you understand acid reflux, you can usually stop it from occurring. What happens in most cases is that your stomach acid and esophagus have a bad reaction to a food you’ve eaten or something you’ve done, and this causes the episode. If we go over the typical acid reflux causes, you’ll be in a better position to avert episodes.

A doctor should be consulted as a first step. Your doctor can check to see if you have a hiatal hernia, a stomach disorder that might be the cause of your condition. People with hiatal hernia have had their upper stomach and LES moved above their diaphragms, which causes their painful symptoms. When working properly, your diaphragm stops acid from leaving your stomach, where it belongs. With this disorder, though, nothing prevents this from occurring. This is a condition that can only be treated with surgery. If you don’t have the surgery, you will have to get used to this problem.

Women who are pregnant can also suffer from acid reflux. If there is an irregularity with hormone production, the fetus can push against the abdomen, causing these symptoms to occur. The worst time for acid reflux if you are pregnant is the third trimester. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot that you can do about the disorder while you are still pregnant. The good news is that the symptoms almost always go away after you have given birth. At least you’ll have something to hold over your child’s head in a few years.

If you are a smoker, this may be what’s causing your acid reflux. There are a number of reasons why this is so. Your mucous membranes are damaged when you smoke. Smoking also harms your throat muscles’ reflexes. When you smoke, your stomach automatically produces extra acid. You also tend to produce less saliva. One thing saliva does is help to reduce the problems caused by any acid that rises into your mouth or throat. If this is the cause of your acid reflux, the answer is obvious. The cure is to quit smoking. Unfortunately, while this answer is obvious it’s not always easy. Remember, though, that if you quit smoking, there are many benefits aside from getting over acid reflux. This can cure or prevent many other health problems, some even more serious than acid reflux!

It’s certainly not pleasant to suffer with acid reflux. You can have this problem and still live normally, but it definitely interferes with your comfort and well being. When you are having a severe attack, there’s not much else you can think about. At least when you are aware of what causes your acid reflux, you are usually in a position to control the situation. The ones we’ve looked at here are the most common.

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