There are many causes of severe heartburn. Usually, heartburn will begin to increase in frequency before it gets very severe. If you have read some of my previous articles, you should have a good understanding of heartburn and the complications that you might face. In this article, I will share with you the causes of severe heartburn.
Heartburn is commonly experienced by adults. In America, one out of every thirty adults experience heartburn. Although occasional heartburn will not cause you much inconvenience, negligence of good eating habits can cause further problems.
Causes of frequent heartburn include smoking, obesity, pregnancy, drinking, and bad eating habits. Obesity and pregnancy causes extra pressure to be put on your stomach. This allows the acid to rise to your esophagus easily. Smoking does damage to your esophagus while bad eating habits reduces the resistance of back flowing stomach acid.
Severe heartburn is often related to the gastro esophageal reflux disease. This disease is defined as a condition whereby stomach contents backflow into the esophagus. Let us take a look at the common causes of GERD which results in severe heartburn.
Pregnancy
Pregnancy causes hormone changes that relax the lower esophageal sphincter. This muscle is responsible for preventing the contents in your stomach from flowing into your esophagus.
Delayed food digestion
Diabetes and abnormal stomach functioning causes slower digestion. When there is a delay in digestion of food, the pressure on your stomach will increase.
Asthma
Research has shown that 50% of asthma sufferers contract GERD. The coughing that comes along with asthma causes increased pressure in the chest. Increased pressure usually triggers reflux, which can cause GERD in the long run.
Medicine
There are some drugs that increase the risk of contracting GERD and worsen the condition of sufferers. If you are on long term medicine, you should check with your doctor for possible substitutes.
Although many causes of GERD are not preventable, you can reduce your risk of heartburn by paying attention to your drinking, smoking and eating habits. By reducing your chances of heartburn, you are significantly reducing your risk of contracting the gastro esophageal reflux disease. After understanding the causes of severe heartburn, you should read more about how you can prevent it from causing major disturbances in your life.
