You could be enjoying a perfect day, then all of a sudden feel a burning sensation that causes discomfort below your breastbone or upper belly. At that moment, your mood gets crippled and you could become extremely uncomfortable. That irritation is what is called a heartburn.
In most cases, heartburn is as the result of having too much stomach acid that keeps refluxing back into the throat. Doctors may provide prescriptions to ease the burning sensation. However, the medicine may fail to work if you don’t know what causes your acid reflux. Here are the main reasons for getting heartburns.
1. Medication
If you often buy over-the-counter meds for fast relief they could cause heartburn or even make it worse. Some prescription meds may also cause that. The most common offenders are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen and others.
Beta blockers and calcium channel blockers (medicines for blood pressure) can also provoke heartburn. Taking these medications relax the esophageal sphincter that typically closes to contain stomach acids. When this muscle relaxes, acid can seep up into the esophagus and cause heartburn.
2. Age
As you grow older, stomach acid production goes downhill, making you susceptible to frequent heartburns. Generally speaking this medical condition affects people more when they get older, and most younger people do not even know about it.
Aging makes your entire digestive system weaker and more prone to various types of ailments, and as you age you need to watch out when you are eating in order to avoid issues like heartburn.
3. Stress
Researchers suggest that stress can cause changes in the brain that turn up to become pain receptors – making you more sensitive to slight increases in stomach acid levels. Stress can decrease the production of substances called prostaglandins as well, which normally protect the stomach from the effects of gastric acids. This could increase your perception of discomfort.
Stress could be one of the reasons why acid reflux gets worse or keeps popping up. The best solution would be to find ways to manage stress and learn ways to react to stressors. Try adopting deep breathing techniques that will return your heart rate back to its normal state in about 30 seconds.
Short walks can also help reduce stress if you feel heated up. When you feel stress cropping on to you, recognize it and work on it before it gets worse.
4. Medical Conditions
Conditions like SIBO, low thyroid function, adrenal fatigue, among others can interfere with your digestive tract activity.When the body is sick, it tends to throw off your body’s production of hormones. These hormones somehow affect your digestive system and encourages it to produce more gastric acids.
On top of medical conditions, the over-the-counter medications prescribed by the doctor to treat this can als add up to the production of gastric acids.
5. Food Intolerances
Meals that are high in oils and fats are the main causes of daily reflux. Gluten and dairy also cause heartburn especially to people who are highly sensitive to them. Eating foods that are already highly acidic like citrus and vinegar-based foods can also add up to the already-existing acids in your stomach. To prevent this from happening, try to steer clear from foods that causes heartburn, and the symptoms will subside after a few days.
6. H. pylori Infection
According to most doctors, this is the most common bacteria that causes heartburns. Some of the factors mentioned above, including lack of sleep, will cause the bacteria to proliferate and cause digestive symptoms.
The bacterium Helicobacter Pylori also known as H.pylori then affects the lining of the stomach tissues through this manner: When people get infected by this bacteria, the natural defense of your body to protect it from the spreading pathogens is to produce more acid.
This is supposed to kill the unwanted flora. But when things do not go as expected, it can cause excess acid production and heartburn – which will then lead to ulcers if left untreated.
Heartburn is caused by many factors that can lead to sore throat, chronic cough, chest pain and even stomach ulcers. So try to avoid this problem by staying healthy. Seeing your doctor to get a full physical exam can also detect any conditions that can cause excess stomach acid production.