Heartburn is a painful, burning feeling in the middle of your chest. It’s not really in your heart, though. It’s caused by stomach acid rising into your esophagus (reflux), which runs through your chest, close to your heart. Heartburn is an occasional symptom for many people and a chronic condition for others, occurring frequently. When it’s chronic, you might have GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease).
When related to GERD, heartburn occurs when stomach juices, including acids and enzymes, backwash into your esophagus. Your stomach has a thick mucous lining that protects it from these substances, but your esophagus doesn’t. A valve at the bottom of your esophagus called the lower esophageal sphincter is supposed to keep stomach contents from coming back up. But sometimes it’s weak or doesn’t close all the way.
Acid reflux that causes heartburn may also indicate other hidden problems in your digestive system. For example, you may have too much acid in your stomach, which can cause complications like gastritis and stomach ulcers. Acid reflux may also aggravate your asthma or other chronic respiratory conditions. If reflux rises into your throat, it can cause swelling and lead to ulcers and growths there.
You may notice heartburn more when:
Lying down.
Bending over.
You had a late dinner.
You had a rich, acidic or spicy meal.
Heartburn may last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours. It should go away when the last meal you ate has passed out of your stomach. Once your stomach has emptied its contents, there should be nothing left to come back up (reflux). Depending on the meal, it can take two to five hours for your stomach to finish digesting. Rich and fatty meals take longer to break down in your stomach.
It may be hard to tell the difference between heartburn and other types of chest pain. If you’re unsure about the type of pain you’re feeling, it’s always a good idea to discuss it with a healthcare provider. It may also help to focus on other symptoms that you might have with it. These accompanying symptoms can help you distinguish heartburn from a heart attack or from other esophageal disorders.
If your heartburn is from acid reflux, you may have:
Burping
Sour taste in the mouth
Nausea
Regurgitation of food
Other atypical symptoms of acid reflux include:
Stomach bloating and over fullness
Hiccups
Chronic cough
Worsening asthma
Sore throat
Laryngitis
Difficulty swallowing or feeling like there’s a lump in your throat.
Chest pain similar to angina (non-cardiac chest pain).
Different things can cause your lower esophageal sphincter to weaken or relax too much, such as:
Inhaling smoke
Extra abdominal pressure from body weight, tight clothing or pregnancy
Hiatal hernia, when your stomach pushes up through your diaphragm
A heavy meal that stretches your stomach and stays in it longer
Indigestion and gas, when gas bubbles rise up through your GI (gastrointestinal) tract
Lying down too soon after eating
Certain foods, including coffee, chocolate, citrus fruits, mint and tomato sauce
Certain medications, including birth control pills and blood pressure medications
How to use Colour Therapy
Colour Therapy treatment for this problem is take sketch pens of violet light blue, green, and black colours and paint about half centimetre dots on the positions (see pic) on right hand thumb.
On the front side towards index finger is Point No. 1 (aakas/space) to increase energy in tam apply black, aakas apply violet and adjoining it is jal (water) apply green colour. To decrease energy of wind, apply light blue, for agni (fire) apply green, and atma (on the back of the thumb) apply black as shown in the figure.
(For more information on holistic techniques visit www.artofselfhealing.in)
