Suffering From Heartburn During Winter? – We Might Know The Reason
By Dr. Nikita Toshi +2 more
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By Dr. Nikita Toshi +2 more
You may not know it, but acidity can peak or worsen during the winter season. This could be due to staying home for long, being physically inactive, having a sedentary lifestyle and eating oily, spicy and junk foods. The reduced physical activity and increased caloric intake result in higher body mass index.
All these factors lead to a slow digestion process, ultimately causing acid reflux and heartburn. So, if you are physically inactive, your digestive system can lead to acid reflux and pain. Adopting preventive measures to avoid acidity is the perfect solution to your problem.
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Chilly winter weather affects more than just temperature. Your body experiences changes in energy levels, metabolism and, even, food choices. When you get cold, do you skip the gym and convince yourself that you deserve a calorie splurge to warm up and offset your discomfort? Well, you’re not the only one! However, the fact is that no weather warrants overindulging on unhealthy foods and eating habits. Just as you should not overeat ice-cream during the hottest summer days, you should not live on an unhealthy diet of spicy/oily/junk food during winter either, as it may cause acid reflux.
As winter approaches, we tend to attribute a whole bunch of symptoms of having a cold such as a runny nose, cough, sore throat, body aches, fatigue and so on. For treating pain and aches, we take a painkiller while, to treat cold and cough symptoms, we usually pop an antibiotic. Although unhealthy food habits and poor lifestyle choices are major causes of acidity and heartburn, certain types of medicines like antibiotics and painkillers can also trigger acidity.
Apart from food and lifestyle, certain painkillers that you take can also cause heartburn and acidity. Most painkillers, like aspirin and ibuprofen, used to treat mild-to-moderate pain, belong to the drug class called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Although they help alleviate pain, they can cause acidity and ulcers in the stomach. A study done in 2008 has found that 27% of individuals using NSAIDs reported heartburn, acid regurgitation or both compared to 19% non-users. Regular use of anti-inflammatory painkillers can increase the risk of ulcers up to five times, along with indigestion, diarrhoea, constipation and bloody stools.
Enormous microbiomes are present in the stomach and intestines, including bacteria (both good and bad) that help in the digestion process. Antibiotics that are used to treat bacterial infections in the body, unfortunately, cannot differentiate between the good and bad bacteria present in the gut and produce side effects such as, nausea and vomiting, acid reflux, heartburn, gas and bloating, cramping and diarrhoea.
Patients who use painkillers frequently, acidity, heartburn and stomach ulcers can pose a grave problem. Different ways to alleviate the symptoms include:
Post antibiotic intake, restore your gut health with these simple tips:
Many over-the-counter, as well as prescribed medications, can help relieve acid reflux and heartburn. These include:
These medicines are most helpful for people who have heartburn often, i.e., more than two days a week. In case of severe acidity, the patient may have to undergo surgery (vagotomy) to curb the acid production in the stomach.
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