Symptoms, Causes, Treatment & Diet. You get indigestion from a disorder in the digestive tract, when the stomach acid flows back up the oesophagus. This makes the stomach lining sore and irritated and hence the pain and heartburn. In this condition, the valve or the sphincter at the top of the stomach does not function efficiently. It is called the gastro- oesophageal reflux disease (GORD). Underlying medical conditions like peptic ulcers, abnormalities in the bile ducts or pancreas, and in rare cases stomach cancer can lead to dyspepsia. A Silent Epidemic of Nutritional Imbalance. Over seventy million Americans may have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. 1 The disease begins with the accumulation of. Learn more about diabetes with symptoms, treatment & diagnosis info. Find articles on types of diabetes & get expert advice from our diabetes specialist. While you can’t stop aging, you can, in a way, slow it down. The first step toward good health in your senior years: Eat right. Optimizing Vitamin D Levels May Reduce Falls and Related Fractures. Vitamin D deficiency is rampant among the elderly. Researchers estimate that half of the general. To find the exact causes of indigestion, doctors may require blood and stool samples for testing, X rays and an endoscopy with biopsies to analyze the causes. Decreasing stress levels and making certain lifestyle changes can bring you relief from the condition. Symptoms of Indigestion. Indigestion is something that almost all of us have experienced at some point, yet it's never easy to describe or summarize the experience. The most characteristic indigestion symptom would be the feeling of uneasiness and a fullness in your chest and stomach soon after your meals, although sometimes there can be a delay between indigestion and eating or drinking. Heartburn is the next indicator of indigestion and involves a strong pain behind the breastbone (sternum) when digestive acids escape from stomach, travelling up the esophagus or gullet. Heartburn isn't necessarily accompanied by vomiting, but at times it may be. What symptoms are common in coeliac disease? Like diabetes itself, coeliac disease can be diagnosed with no symptoms, and the symptoms can be extremely subtle. Watch: Teen saves fellow student from choking on a cheese curd Watch: Teen saves fellow student from choking on a cheese curdA cafeteria security camera caught. Remedios Caseros > Farmacia > Natural Home Remedies Products Home Remedies and Natural Remedies are in alphabetical order: Acacia - Acacia Farnesiana - Acacia Vera.Acacia. The other indicators are bloating and belching, and burping. Indigestion in the elderly can be accompanied by more serious health problems. You should seek medical advice if you are over 5. The following are some of the additional health disorders that should be treated immediately if they occur with chronic indigestion in old age: You unintentionally lose a lot of weight, find it difficult to swallow (dysphagia) and have persistent vomiting. If you have vomited blood or have passed stools with blood, you have gastrointestinal bleeding (bleeding in the stomach and intestines) that needs immediate medical attention. This condition will make you feel dizzy and tired. If you suffer from iron deficiency anemia (where the red blood cell count decreases because the body lacks the iron needed to produce them) and suffer from fatigue, irregular heartbeat and breathlessness, you should get yourself checked. Chronic or recurring indigestion should be checked through an endoscopy procedure for any lumps that may have formed inside the stomach. Chronic and recurring indigestion in elderly people along with the above stated conditions can be a cause of concern because in some cases these are indications of a stomach cancer. Causes of Indigestion. There are various possible causes for indigestion and dyspepsia. Indigestion causes are from digestive tract disorders like gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and other abnormal conditions in the stomach. Indigestion can be triggered by conditions in the stomach such as irregularities in the pancreas or bile ducts, peptic ulcers in your duodenum and in worst cases, stomach cancer. However, since the conditions are inter related, the symptoms of indigestion improves if these conditions are treated and resolved. Peptic ulcers occur when the lining of either the stomach or the first part of your small bowel, called the duodenum is damaged and becomes inflamed. There is a mucus layer in your stomach, esophagus and bowel walls that act as a protection against the strong stomach acids that acts on the food, helps digest it and protect it from infection. When this mucus layer gets disturbed, or is damaged; the strong stomach acids irritate the tissues underneath. Peptic ulcers are caused by a bacterium that lives in the mucus layer of the stomach, called Helicobacter pylori (H. A part of the stomach or sphincter slides up to your chest cavity when you have hiatus hernia, and this causes reflux. Pregnancy increases the levels of female hormones progesterone and estrogen in the body. These hormones relax the sphincter muscles causing indigestion and heartburns in pregnant women. There is a category of indigestion, called functional dyspepsia where the indigestion occurs in the body without any cause. It is thought to affect the area where the small intestine meets the stomach. The indigestion may be because of abnormalities or a disorder in motility. Motility is the squeezing and relaxing action of the muscles in the stomach when it receives, digests and pushes the food into the small intestine. Indigestion is a side effect of certain medications like aspirin and anti- inflammatory medicines needed to treat arthritis. Indigestion causes can be linked with its remedies if you can make certain lifestyle changes. Some of the trigger symptoms of indigestion are too much smoking, intake of excessive alcohol and anxiety and stress. You can control indigestion by avoiding these. Certain pleasure foods like chocolates and caffeine relax the sphincter at the joint of the oessophagus and stomach and directly irritate the lining of the oesophagus. Obesity or being overweight increases the pressure on your stomach and make you feel like you are suffering from indigestion. Regular exercises and a walk after your meals help in settling the food down and reduce reflux. Remedies for Indigestion. Indigestion remedies are linked with several factors, so you will have to consciously make some lifestyle changes along with the use of appropriate medications to get rid of your indigestion. There are several home remedies for indigestion that can help relieve the condition, some of which have been backed by scientific studies. Refrain from smoking or from consuming aerated drinks, coffee and alcohol. Eat in small quantities throughout the day and avoid fatty foods that are hard to digest. Stop using medications that aggravate the condition by irritating the stomach lining; like aspirin and anti- inflammatory drugs. If any such medications are being used to treat an existing condition, consult with your doctor for alternatives. Avoid emotional and physical stress. You can take up physical or meditative practices to combat stress, such as yoga or even swimming. Get enough sleep at night and try to rest as much as possible during the day. According to many natural health enthusiasts some of these home remedies for indigestion could help. Like many other claims from natural health enthusiasts however, many of these are not subjected to rigorous testing and may prove ineffective. Drink half a glass of pineapple juice after eating. Apply an ice bag over your stomach, half an hour after eating. Add two spoons of coriander juice to a glass of buttermilk and drink when dealing with indigestion. Mix a spoon of lemon and ginger juice and two spoons of honey with lukewarm water and drink the concoction. Drink a cup of ginger tea after meals to avoid heartburn and nausea. Chewing a fresh garlic clove with some salt five to ten minutes before eating stimulates digestion. You may be prescribed over the counter medicines and antacids as acid indigestion treatment. These medications will provide you with acid indigestion relief by helping the stomach move food rapidly into the small intestine. You should not use these nonprescription medications over a length of time without consulting your doctor. The concept of the antacids is to combine three different salts, calcium, aluminum and magnesium with hydroxide and bicarbonate ions to neutralize the acid in the stomach. Antacids have side effects and can cause diarrhea or constipation. H2 receptor antagonists, known as H2. RAs are famotidine (Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid), ranitidine (Zantac) and cimetidine (Tagamet). H2. RAs reduce stomach acids and work slowly in improving digestion. The side effects include constipation, diarrhea, unusual bleeding or bruising and, vomiting, headache or nausea. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are rabeprazole (Aciphex), omeprazole (Prilosec, Zegerid), lansoprazole (Prevacid), esomeprazole (Nexium) and pantoprazole (Protonix). PPIs are stronger than H2. RAs and treat indigestion by reducing stomach acid. PPIs are most effective in treating people suffering from GERD. Side effects of PPIs are abdominal pain, back pain, cough, dizziness, gas, nausea, vomiting, headache, constipation, and diarrhea. Prokinetics like metoclopramide (Reglan) is used to treat people who have problems with the stomach emptying too slowly. This medicine also improves the muscle action in the digestive tract. Prokinetics however have several side effects that limit its usefulness. Sleepiness, fatigue, anxiety, involuntary muscle spasms or movements and depression. Diet for Indigestion. Dietary considerations are particularly relevant in the treatment of indigestions, as this directly influences the condition. You need follow a strict diet and incorporate some eating habits if you want to get rid of indigestion. Eat lots of fruits. Fruits should be included in your diet in the whole form and processed juices avoided since they are more acidic. However, avoid acidic foods like citrus fruits, onions, tomatoes if these trigger off heartburns. You should avoid all junk foods, fatty, fried foods, spicy foods like pickles, curries and so on. You should walk at least thirty minutes in a day. However, you should not indulge in any rigorous physical activity immediately after your meal. A brisk walk at night after your meal will help with digestion. Try and maintain regularity with your meal times, and serve yourself smaller portions. Heavy meals are typically a lot harder to digest. Kids are always told to chew their food thoroughly and this bit of advice is just as important to all of us. Digestion begins the minute you begin chewing, because the food is being broken up and your saliva begins to work on it. Referencesvan Nieuw Amerongen A, Veerman EC. Ned Tijdschr Tandheelkd. Nov; 1. 02(1. 1): 4. Pub. Med PMID: 1. Try to eat a diet of natural whole foods such as fruits.. Since he is vomiting he.. Waiting for a liver transplant. When a patient presents with end stage liver disease or liver failure he or she may be considered for a liver transplantation. The first step in this is often a rigorous assessment and being placed on a waiting list. Evaluation and management for being placed on the waiting list. The patient’s liver disease undergoes a detailed evaluation. The patient’s general health condition and ability to withstand a major surgery is evaluated. Usually a liver specialist or hepatologist and a transplant surgeon along with other specialists like heart specialist, infectious disease specialists, and chest specialists are involved in this assessment. In addition, a social worker and psychiatrist meet with the patient as well as the family for motivation and support. General work up includes chest X ray, routine blood and urine tests and electrocardiography (ECG). These determine general fitness as well as fitness to withstand general anesthesia and the major surgery. Other tests include tests for viral hepatitis, HIV infection, liver function tests, blood coagulation tests, blood group and type. Patients with drug or alcohol problems need to be helped to develop a plan prior to transplant to prevent a relapse after the operation. Allocation of the organ from deceased donors. Once a patient has been accepted for liver transplant and undergoes the initial evaluation they are placed on the waiting list. Usually a national system like the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) organizes collection and distribution of deceased donor organs along with organizations like Organ Procurement Organizations. Each patient on the list are listed as per their height, body weight and blood group. Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD)The final allocation is made based on a system called the Model for End Stage Liver Disease (MELD). MELD involves a few simple blood tests including creatinine (for kidney health), bilirubin (liver function assessment) and INR (blood coagulation profile assessment). These values are then put into a formula that gives the MELD Score. This helps to determine the patient’s place on the waiting list. There are extra points for emergency requirements like hepatocellular carcinoma. The MELD score usually increases as the liver disease worsens in the person on the waiting list. Calculated MELD scores range from 6 to 4. A MELD score can predict 3- month and 1- year mortality or risk of death in most patients with chronic liver disease. The disadvantages of MELD includes the fact that it is based on short term mortality risk and may not be beneficial for those who are not at imminent risk of death but may benefit with a transplantation including those with compensated or stable liver cirrhosis. In very urgent cases like drug over dose and acute liver failure, decisions for transplantation have to be made in a matter of days and this is usually made following the King's College criteria. Pediatric End- Stage Liver Disease (PELD)For children (less than 1. PELD (Pediatric End- Stage Liver Disease) exists. It also considers other factors like growth retardation in the children and ages less than 1 year for short time survival differences. The PELD score utilizes serum albumin and bilirubin levels and INR. The system aims to direct organs to the sickest patients awaiting liver transplantation so as to reduce the rates of deaths while on the list. In spite of efforts, the continuing shortage of deceased donor organs makes the situation difficult. Over the last two decades the need for donor livers has risen by 9. Advice for patients while waiting. While waiting on the list patients are advised to stay as healthy as possible by eating a healthy balanced diet, taking regular exercise, completely avoiding alcohol, not smoking etc. An average waiting time for a liver transplant is 1. Being on the waiting list may predispose to anxiety and depression. It is found that one in four people waiting for a liver transplant have symptoms of moderate to severe depression. Counselling and help should be sought in these cases. Reviewed by April Cashin- Garbutt, BA Hons (Cantab)Further Reading.
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