Treatment
By Sharon Gillson, About.com Guide to Heartburn / GERD
Whether you've been diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a hiatal hernia, peptic ulcer, or some other digestive disorder, it's important to know how to treat the condition. Treatment can range from lifestyle modification to medication to surgery in severe cases that don't respond to any other treatment.
Lifestyle Modification
One of the first steps doctors advise their patients to take when treating chronic heartburn is to make lifestyle changes.
- Quick Tips for Preventing Heartburn
- Preventing Nighttime Heartburn
- Pregnancy and Heartburn
- Preventing Summertime Heartburn
- Preventing Heartburn at School
- Preventing Holiday Heartburn
- Preventing Heartburn at Holiday Parties
- Holiday Tips for Children with GERD
Diet Modification
Anyone suffering from heartburn needs have a special acid reflux diet. Find resources on creating your acid reflux diet, foods that are safe or those that should be avoided in an acid reflux diet, and recipes that are heartburn-free and ideal for the acid reflux diet.
- How Certain Foods Cause Heartburn
- Safe Foods for Heartburn Sufferers
- Foods to Eat in Moderation
- Foods to Avoid
- Meal Planning Tips to Prevent Heartburn
- Heartburn-Free School Lunches
- 8 Quick Ways to Prevent Heartburn
- Dining Out Guide for Heartburn Sufferers
- Creating a Heartburn-Free Diet
- Heartburn-Free Picnics
- Heartburn Record - Charting Foods That Cause Heartburn
- Books on the Acid Reflux Diet
Heartburn-Free Recipes
These recipes that will help heartburn sufferers prepare food that will aide in good digestion. It isn't just the foods you select that help you with the heartburn. It is also important how the foods are prepared.
Heartburn-Friendly Menus
These sample menus will provide you with suggestions for heartburn-friendly meals. With these suggestions for the acid reflux diet, individual meals, and weekly menus are provided. The weekly menus are Sunday through Saturday, giving suggestions for breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, and dinner.
Antacids
When used properly, antacids are useful in relieving the occasional heartburn and indigestion. The active ingredient in antacids neutralizes stomach acid, which is what is causing the pain.
H2 Blockers
H2 blockers, also called H2-receptor antagonists, are medicines that reduce the amount of acid the stomach produces by blocking one important producer of acid: histamine2.
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)
Proton pump inhibitors are a group of medications that decreases the amount of acid in the stomach and intestines. They work by completely blocking the production of stomach acid. They do this by inhibiting (shutting down) a system in the stomach known as the proton pump.
Surgery
There are surgical options that may be used to treat chronic acid reflux that doesn't respond well to other treatments.
GERD Treatment in Kids
Many people assume GERD is a disorder that occurs only in adults. Perhaps that's because the older a person gets, the odds for developing GERD increases. The fact is, however, that many children, even infants, are diagnosed with GERD every year.
