How to Get Rid of Indigestion
Indigestion, which is also called dyspepsia, is the painful feeling you have in the upper portion (epigastric) of your stomach that is usually accompanied by nausea, bloating, feeling of fullness and sometimes vomiting. Some people also describe it as a burning feeling. Indigestion is often related to the food intake you had before. There are two types of indigestion. First is the mild indigestion which occurs after a heavy meal especially when you had something rich or spicy. The second type is the chronic indigestion. This type is a more persistent and in some cases more severe as this has something to do with another underlying illness or diagnosis.
You will know that it is indigestion (and not just another stomach ache) because it is usually a combination of symptoms and not merely a stomach ache alone. You may experience hiccups, excessive flatulence and belching. In some cases, you may experience having a ‘water brash’ which is when you feel that your saliva seems to be flowing like water. For chronic types, you may feel that your tongue is very dry and it is coated with a brown and fur-like substance. To get rid of those, review the following tips:
Take smaller meals
If you have had indigestion before, review carefully the triggering points before it happened. Since your intestine’s incapability to digest whatever you took in is the problem, better start from there. Try to avoid eating too much especially when you are fond of eating meat which is really hard to digest. Also, help yourself by taking a few sips of water every now and then. That would really help in your digestion.
Chew, chew, and chew
Another tip is to chew your food properly. Remember that chewing is the first step of digestion. It is in this stage too that you have to masticate your food with your saliva (since this is a natural enzyme) so that digestion can take place right there and then. Remember that this is the only process in which you can control as this is a voluntary movement. So make sure to chew you food properly before swallowing it.
Antacids and Proton-pump inhibitors
These two types of drugs are common over the counter medications that can give temporary relief from indigestion (because if this is a chronic type, it will just go back). Examples of antacids are Tums, Rolaids and Pepto-Bismol. Antacids will somehow neutralize the build up of acids that are present in your digestive tract (trying to digest the food). However it won’t be of help to the other symptoms like bloating, nausea and gas pains. If you don’t want to drink antacids, you can mix a glass of water and one tablespoon of baking soda. It would give the same effect but i have to warn you, it doesn’t taste that good.
On the other hand, proton-pump inhibitors are drugs that prevent your stomach from excreting acid. That way, it would provide you relief from the pain and burning sensation. Some of the names are Tagamet, Zantac and Pepcid.
Indigestion, which is also called dyspepsia, is the painful feeling you have in the upper portion (epigastric) of your stomach that is usually accompanied by nausea, bloating, feeling of fullness and sometimes vomiting. Some people also describe it as a burning feeling. Indigestion is often related to the food intake you had before. There are two types of indigestion. First is the mild indigestion which occurs after a heavy meal especially when you had something rich or spicy. The second type is the chronic indigestion. This type is a more persistent and in some cases more severe as this has something to do with another underlying illness or diagnosis.
You will know that it is indigestion (and not just another stomach ache) because it is usually a combination of symptoms and not merely a stomach ache alone. You may experience hiccups, excessive flatulence and belching. In some cases, you may experience having a ‘water brash’ which is when you feel that your saliva seems to be flowing like water. For chronic types, you may feel that your tongue is very dry and it is coated with a brown and fur-like substance. To get rid of those, review the following tips:
Take smaller meals
If you have had indigestion before, review carefully the triggering points before it happened. Since your intestine’s incapability to digest whatever you took in is the problem, better start from there. Try to avoid eating too much especially when you are fond of eating meat which is really hard to digest. Also, help yourself by taking a few sips of water every now and then. That would really help in your digestion.
Chew, chew, and chew
Another tip is to chew your food properly. Remember that chewing is the first step of digestion. It is in this stage too that you have to masticate your food with your saliva (since this is a natural enzyme) so that digestion can take place right there and then. Remember that this is the only process in which you can control as this is a voluntary movement. So make sure to chew you food properly before swallowing it.
Antacids and Proton-pump inhibitors
These two types of drugs are common over the counter medications that can give temporary relief from indigestion (because if this is a chronic type, it will just go back). Examples of antacids are Tums, Rolaids and Pepto-Bismol. Antacids will somehow neutralize the build up of acids that are present in your digestive tract (trying to digest the food). However it won’t be of help to the other symptoms like bloating, nausea and gas pains. If you don’t want to drink antacids, you can mix a glass of water and one tablespoon of baking soda. It would give the same effect but i have to warn you, it doesn’t taste that good.
On the other hand, proton-pump inhibitors are drugs that prevent your stomach from excreting acid. That way, it would provide you relief from the pain and burning sensation. Some of the names are Tagamet, Zantac and Pepcid.
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