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Dealing With Heartburn: 3 Ways to Alleviate Your Pain
Michelle Hopkins
When you are trying to sleep, you may experience heartburn. This can cause you discomfort, and it may even prevent you from going to sleep quickly. You can alleviate this problem, however, by taking these steps.
Avoid Foods and Drinks at Night That Trigger Heartburn
One of the best steps you can take for dealing with heartburn at night is to simply avoid foods and drinks at night that are going to trigger heartburn. Instead of drinking a lot of caffeinated beverages at night like coffee and tea, rely on water. This will help hydrate your body better and prevent acids from coming up to your esophagus.
In terms of foods, try to not eat any chocolate, or foods that have garlic, onions and grease. You should also avoid any foods with citrus in them. If you are not aware of what triggers your heartburn, you can go through a trial and error process. Once you experience heartburn from a drink or food item, make a note of it in a journal to help you always remember.
Quit Smoking
If you smoke on a regular basis, this could be a huge reason why you are experiencing heartburn. This is so because the nicotine found in cigarettes has been known to relax the muscle in the lower esophagus that keeps acid in the stomach. The more cigarettes you smoke, the more acid there will be in your esophagus and this will cause a burning situation.
You can effectively quit smoking, fortunately, by talking with a doctor. This professional will be able to give you nicotine patches, nicotine lozenges or even nicotine gum. All of these things can be used to treat your cravings, helping you gradually stop smoking over time.
Seek Help from a Gastroenterologist
If your heartburn is so bad that you can't treat it no matter what you do, it's time to find a gastroenterologist who can help you. It's important to seek help from one of these professionals, because if you don't treat chronic heartburn, it could cause scarring and even narrow your esophagus.
Sometimes it's your medications that trigger heartburn. These medications may include osteoporosis, blood pressure and depression medications. Your gastroenterologist will get rid of any medications causing you heartburn and will find an effective alternative. They will also advise you to sleep with your head elevated at a certain angle, so acids don't travel up your esophagus.
So if you deal with constant heartburn at night, preventing you from sleeping, you can take these steps. They will help you live a happy, pain-free life again, so you don't have to struggle when trying to sleep.
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