Acid Reflux Cure Facts

It seems that every day you hear about a new acid reflux cure. The fact is we have more treatment options available than ever before and so the chances of getting relief from acid reflux are better than ever.

Acid reflux simply means that acid from the stomach backs up (refluxes) into the esophagus. Since the esophagus doesn’t have the same protective lining the stomach does this causes damage and the burning pain we experience as heartburn.

Considering the causes, the logical approach to curing reflux involve avoiding triggering episodes, minimizing the reflux and neutralizing the acid if an episode does occur.

Episodes of reflux often triggered by eating. Sometimes it’s the particular type of food, such as acidic foods. Other times it’s the volume of food a person eats that creates the problem.

Common sense tells you that eating small meals and staying away from common trigger foods such as tomato sauce well prevent problems.

Another mechanical factor to remember is gravity. If you’re sitting upright or standing, the stomach content has to go uphill to reflux into the esophagus. On the other hand if you lie down when you stomach is full, it’s much easier for the stomach acid to flow into the esophagus.

This effect of gravity is why many people have problems with reflux in the middle of the night. It also suggests another aspect of acid reflux cure. You can help the problem by avoiding eating for several hours before going to bed. Also, if you elevate the head of the bed or put a wedge under your mattress gravity will continue to help keep stomach content where it belongs.

Aside from reducing the reflux itself, and other acid reflux cure is to neutralize the acid so it doesn’t damage the esophagus if reflux does occur. The first medications to do this were antacids. These are either liquid or tablets that you swallow. And they act to chemically neutralize the stomach acid.

For the last couple of decades, we’ve had medications that prevent the acid from being produced in the first place. The first class of these drugs were called H2 blockers. An example is Tagamet. New medications block even more acid from being produced.

Obviously, this is not a detailed report on all the acid reflux cure is available, but I think this is enough to give you a broad overview.