Kidney, Urinary, Gastro Intestinal, Liver

In addition to medication to manage GERD, lifestyle changes are an important element of managing the condition: Lose weight. Obesity is the leading cause of GERD. Extra stomach fat places pressure on your abdomen, pushing gastric juices up into your esophagus.  Avoid foods known to cause reflux. If you're at risk for GERD, avoid: Fatty foods Spicy foods Acidic foods, like tomatoes and citrus Mint Chocolate Onions Coffee or any caffeinated beverage Carbonated beverages Eat smaller meals…

In addition to managing lifestyle described here, treatment options include medication and surgery. Medication For chronic reflux and heartburn, the doctor may recommend medications to reduce acid in the stomach. These medicines include H2 blockers, which inhibit acid secretion in the stomach. H2 blockers include: cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), and ranitidine (Zantac). Another type of drug, the proton pump inhibitor (or acid pump), inhibits an enzyme (a protein in…

How is GERD diagnosed? Medical History Your doctor will begin assessing you for GERD by reviewing your symptoms. If you are frequently experiencing classic GERD symptoms, your doctor can diagnose you on that basis. The two most common symptoms are: Heartburn.  Regurgitation Lab tests People with severe symptoms may need to undergo tests that can both verify GERD and help doctors assess the scope of the problem. These tests include: Barium X-rays: The patient is asked to drink barium…

What are the symptoms of GERD? A burning sensation in your chest (heartburn), sometimes spreading to your throat, along with a sour taste in your mouth When acid refluxes into the esophagus in patients with GERD, nerve fibers in the esophagus are stimulated, causing the pain that is characteristic of GERD. Heartburn usually is described as a burning pain in the middle of the chest. It may start high in the abdomen and may extend up into the neck.  Chest pain In some patients, the pain may…

Risk factors for developing GERD are Obesity Pregnancy Smoking Spicy foods Acidic fruits and vegetables, like citrus or tomatoes Alcohol Garlic and onions Fried foods, or heavily fatty foods Causes of GERD are Lower esophageal sphincter abnormalities: When you swallow, the lower esophageal sphincter — a circular band of muscle around the bottom part of your esophagus — relaxes to allow food and liquid to flow down into your stomach. Then it closes again, so that the food cannot go back…

What is Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)? Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a digestive disorder. Gastroesophageal refers to the stomach and esophagus (food pipe). Reflux means to flow back or return. Gastroesophageal reflux is a condition in which the contents of the stomach (in liquid form) backs up or refluxes into the esophagus. The regurgitated liquid usually contains acid and pepsin that are produced by the stomach. (Pepsin is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins…

Nutritionist Kohila Govindaraju suggests easy recipes and lifestyle changes to manage heartburn or acid reflux. For those suffering from acid reflux, the pleasure of eating often turns into pain. Acid reflux occurs when the stomach acid and digestive enzymes flow backwards into the oesophagus (food pipe), irritating its lining. This is usually caused by the dysfunction of the lower esophageal muscle, which works to keep the stomach acids in the stomach. The result is a burning sensation in…

Maintaining good oral health is more than just about keeping cavities at bay. Your dental health has far-reaching consequences on your body, with oral bacteria being linked to many life-threatening conditions, like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, renal health and even brain abcess. Oral hygiene and overall good health  Like many areas of the body, your mouth is teeming with bacteria, most of them harmless. Normally the body's natural defences and good oral health can keep these…

Bladder problems affect 75 to 90 percent of people with multiple sclerosis, according to a July 2014 in-depth report in MS in Focus, published by the Multiple Sclerosis International Foundation (MSIF). “Patients need to understand that bladder issues are a symptom of their disease process and not something they should be embarrassed or ashamed about,” says Dr. Marlene Murphy Setzko, a urologist and director of Urologic Services at the Mandell Center for Comprehensive MS Care in Hartford,…

A widely prevalent skew in kidney donation — gender disparity — is just as shocking as economic disparity, when the bald numbers are scanned. Doctors at Narayana Health, a large Bangalore-headquartered hospital chain run by well-known cardiac surgeon Devi Shetty, found that an overwhelming 65 per cent of kidney donors in its hospitals are women, whereas 70 per cent of kidney recipients are male. Kidney donation is a medically proven safe process that has no bearing on a person’s lifespan. Yet,…