No 5 iller Crescent, Off Katsina Ala Street
Maitama, Abuja, FCT, NigeriaOPEN 24x7
EMA Accredited Hospital
By Dr Hassan's Hospital • February 15, 2017 • No Comments
There is no one who has not on one or more occasions had a burning sensation in the middle of their chest. This is one symptom which is probably as common as headache and back pain, may be even commoner.
Heart burn as a sentiment has been a part of poetry in nearly all languages especially so in the East, where it has been a symbol of jealousy, anxiety, apprehension, despairs and many negative emotions.
Interestingly, neither the emotion nor the burning sensation has anything to do with the heart.
Among the commonest ills of man, ranking close to constipation back pain and headaches, is the wide range of supposed digestive upsets mistakenly described as “acid indigestion.” Every day, millions of people complain of “heartburn” or “sour stomach.” TV commercials spiel endlessly about “acid upset.” Some sufferers try to dignify their complaints with such technical terms as hyper-acidity and acidosis. By whatever name, the problem is a high-up bellyache.
Medically both heartburn and acid indigestion are vague terms, as hard to define precisely as to treat effectively. Heartburn is a burning sensation felt somewhere behind the breastbone.
Otherwise healthy people often wonder what the causes for heartburn are when burning sensations are felt in the chest area; especially when lying down or bending forward. This sensation starts from the breastbone and seems to travel up along the neck and throat. Often times, sufferers will complain that the contents of the stomach – food and liquids – seem to be heading back up. They may also report a sour or bitter aftertaste in the mouth during a heartburn episode.
The most likely causes for heartburn are the foods and drinks taken during a meal. Over 90% of heartburn or acid reflux sufferers can attest to this fact. Understanding which types of foods or drinks have a higher likelihood of contributing to heartburn goes a long way to either minimizing or avoiding the pain and discomfort. Controlling the intake of these foods and drinks may prevent the painful conditions from recurring in the future.
Heartburn often comes with a back flow of partly digested food from the stomach into the esophagus. The victim may then belch up a little of this undigested food or its juices, and be concerned by the sharp taste that comes into the mouth. In most cases, this is a minor matter, and the result of gulping food while under emotional tension. A classic case is that of stockbrokers, who eat on their feet during midday trading.
Heart burn is the result of indigestion, due to increased hydrochloric acid in the stomach some of which regurgitates into the esophagus along with other juices and undigested food.
The stomach normally produces a small amount of hydrochloric acid, which is required for digesting food.
Emotional stress, lack of sleep, spicy food, carbonated drinks, oil (as in deep fried snacks), presence of systemic infections such as malaria can all lead to an increase in the production of hydrochloric acid in the stomach. This hyper-acidity can give rise to a burning sensation or pain in the area above the umbilicus and up to the breast bone called the sternum.
M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
27 | 28 |