subject: Mens Health: Heartburn In Men [print this page] The condition where the muscles in the opening of the stomach will relax making the eaten food including digestive acids and enzymes to rise back to the esophagus is referred to as acid influx. This is one of symptoms of heartburn or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Heartburn is a medical condition that involves the digestive system. There are many symptoms of heartburn and they often vary from person to person for it is due to different causes. Read along this article and find out the common symptoms, causes and treatment of heartburn in men.
The main culprit for heartburn is unhealthy diet. Too much caffeine and too much chocolate can lead to heartburn. Excessive eating of fatty and other acidic foods also increases the risk of heartburn. Excessive intake of alcohol, carbonated drinks, smoking, obesity and sleeping or lying down right after eating are other causes of heart burn in men.
The symptoms of heartburn may differ in different people. Although, there are several noted heartburn symptoms that are found and are most common to people. These symptoms are irritating feeling in the chest immediately after eating that usually takes few to several minutes to disappear, difficulty in swallowing,painful feeling in the chest when bending or lying down, feeling of food getting stuck while travelling down the throat and burning sensation in throat brought by the rise of acids. In extreme heartburn cases, it can cause chronic cough, sore throat and asthma.
Drinking milk when experiencing heartburn should be avoided. Milk contains calcium and protein that can stimulate and increase the acid production in the stomach. If one is experiencing heartburn, he may opt to but over the counter drugs like antacid to neutralize the acid production in the stomach.
Heartburn or GERD can be prevented by having a healthy diet. This means that too much drinking and eating of acidic foods should be avoided, as well as eating spicy and fatty foods. One should also avoid food and drinks with caffeine, carbonated drinks, alcohol and smoking to prevent heartburn.
Your doctor can immediately identify if what you are experiencing is heartburn or not just by telling him the symptoms. However, he may also recommend special tests for you so that he can determine the severity of the condition as well as provide you with proper treatment.
