Did you know that some foods we eat unconsciously in our daily life trigger our reflux? As Elmaelma.com, how should people with reflux be fed? What are the symptoms of reflux? How is reflux treated? General Surgery Specialist Op. Dr. We learned from Fatih Kar. Here are all the details you wonder about Reflux…
Be careful with these foods!
Reflux, which is very common, is triggered by malnutrition. Experts warn reflux patients to consume foods and drinks carefully, such as coffee, tea, pickles, hot chili peppers, onions, garlic, and raw salad.
May present with chest pain
The main complaints are chest pain, chest burning, mouth watering, chest tightness and pressure, hoarseness, chronic cough in the form of tickling, pain that hits the middle of the back without fail visible. Reflux can be confused with a heart attack because it gives symptoms with chest pain that comes very quickly at night and can cause a rhythm disorder in the cycle period heart. Therefore, it is shown in the middle of the most valuable non-cardiac reasons who present to the emergency services with chest pain. In this respect, these patients who come with chest pain should definitely be evaluated in terms of reflux.
Beware of the food consumed late at night!
Referring to the negative effect of malnutrition on reflux, Kar said, “Reflux is more threatening for those who work in stressful jobs, those who consume heavy coffee and tea, those who smoke, those who do not exercise, and those who have the habit of eating late. Raw in the middle of foods that can trigger reflux in the stomach. There are salads, onions, garlic, hot chili peppers, pickles, oranges, grapefruit. We definitely do not recommend their consumption, especially in the late hours, for reflux patients
It is important to lie down!
Sleepiness at night in reflux patients is also important. It is very precious. The horizontal position that the person takes when he sleeps causes the angle between the esophagus and the middle of the stomach to straighten. During sleep, stomach acid secretion is also more common. Therefore, reflux problems are usually worse at night.
You can use a reflux pillow
For this, the patient needs to determine a suitable sleeping position for himself. By using a reflux pillow or by raising the head of the bed, bringing the patient from the waist to a slightly vertical position will allow him to spend the night comfortably. It is possible to overcome reflux by taking these precautions and acting within the diet program to be given to him and making sports a habit. If reflux does not go away with diet and other measures I have mentioned, and if important problems continue, medical treatment is recommended. Medical treatment alleviates complaints because it turns the acid in the stomach into water consistency. Even if reflux continues, it obviously provides an improvement in clinics, since the content of the liquid is not caustic.
Surgical methods can be applied
Early age is a very valuable factor in patients who are offered medical treatment. Namely, a 25-year-old patient may have to use a stomach medication continuously. If we consider the average lifespan of patients as 80, it is not a real behavior to be sentenced to 50-60 years of medication. In such cases, surgery may be on the agenda. Because long-term use of drugs can disrupt stomach absorption, as well as cause calcium and iron deficiencies. Depending on this, problems such as bone problems and anemia may occur. If the problems can be resolved with short-term drug use, lifestyle, nutrition and exercise, no other treatment is required. However, despite all these, if the complaints do not go away and reflux attacks increase together with complaints such as chest tightness and hoarseness, then surgery should be brought to the agenda. In the surgery, we create a valve system like an ink arrow instead of the esophagus and stomach. This is a closed operation that is performed laparoscopically. It takes 45 minutes on average. The patients are kept under surveillance for 1 day in the hospital environment and they stop using drugs the same day. The quality of life of these patients improves significantly after these operations and they do not need to use drugs again. Although recurrences depend on many factors, they are highly related to the quality of the surgery performed. After a good surgery, the recurrence rate can drop to 2-3%. Since a new valve system is created there after the surgery, the patients need diet harmony. It is possible to switch to normal food by eating liquid-soft foods for a few weeks, and by reducing the portions within a few months.
