Acid Reflux Treatment
Treatment for acid reflux varies depending on an individual. Fortunately there are many options for treatment that make GERD a much easier disease to live with. Treatment regimens include lifestyle changes, medications and surgery. We'll talk a little bit about those three options in this article.
Lifestyle Changes
In most acid reflux diseases, adopting lifestyle changes may be enough to control the pain and discomfort of acid reflux. Unfortunately, this disease is getting more and more common because of the lifestyle that most of us have adopted. Changing that lifestyle has to be an important part of treatment.
Here are some examples of lifestyle changes that can help reduce acid reflux symptoms:
- control your weight
- eating smaller meals
- wear loose-fitting clothes
- avoid heartburn-triggering foods
- avoid stooping or bending
- don't lie down after a meal
- raise the head of your bed
- don't smoke
- reduce alcohol consumption
One easy acid reflux treatment is to cut out fatty and/or deep fried foods. Other lifestyle changes that might be necessary include avoiding overeating, alcohol, coffee and smoking. You might also try wearing looser fitting clothes instead of clothing that constricts the stomach. If lifestyle changes don't bring enough relief, other steps can be taken for acid reflux treatment.
Medications
There are a number of medications used to treat acid reflux that range from over-the-counter antacids to prescription drugs. Some are over-the-counter drugs that help ease symptoms when you have the occasional heartburn or indigestion. Antacids such as Alka-Seltzer, Maalox, Mylanta, Pepto-Bismol, Rolaids, and Riopan are usually the first drugs recommended to relieve heartburn and other mild acid reflux symptoms.
The next step up are H2 blockers. These are drugs that prevent or block the production of gastric (stomach) acid. Tagamet, Pepcid AC, Axid AR and Zantac are examples of H2 blockers.
Finally are the proton pump inhibitors. They are another set of drugs used for acid reflux related diseases. PPI's actually stop the stomach from producing acid.
Keep in mind that if medication is needed for acid reflux treatment, it is likely that the medication will have to be taken regularly and continued indefinitely.
Surgery
When other treatments don't help, surgery can provide relief from acid reflux or GERD. The surgery is intended to strengthen the lower esophageal sphincter — a muscle that normally serves as a barrier to prevent stomach contents from entering the esophagus. The surgery is performed using a laparoscopic technique through tiny holes in the belly button and upper abdomen. Successful surgery greatly relieves and can correct severe reflux and heartburn.
If you're looking for the right acid reflux treatment, you should always consider the long term effect. There are quite a few acid reflux treatments now, and more seem to become available all the time. Talk to your doctor to assess the severity of your acid reflux, and to get advice about an appropriate treatment for you.