According to statistics, about 60% of the total population suffers from heartburn. The reason for this condition may be a malfunction of the stomach or increased acidity. It is very dangerous if heartburn torments at night, because after such a dream a person wakes up broken, exhausted and throughout the day feels tired, tormented by headaches.
What is the danger?
The danger of heartburn at night lies in the fact that it is during that time period when the majority of the population falls asleep, from 22:00 to 02:00, saliva production decreases significantly, almost completely stops, and it neutralizes the negative impact of the acidic environment. As a result, the esophagus is much longer cleansed of acid, greatly exposed to it and inflamed.
Why sometimes there is a burning sensation behind the sternum during sleep?
The most common causes of heartburn at night are:
- smoking;
- excess body weight;
- hearty dinner, just before going to bed;
- fatty, heavy food;
- strong drinks (coffee, tea);
- pregnancy.
But such causes, as a rule, lead to periodic bouts of heartburn. To cope with this condition is quite simple, by eliminating the causes and taking preventive measures. These measures include taking medications or using traditional medicine methods.
Why is torment often tormented?
What does it mean often? This refers to if heartburn attacks at night are repeated more than once during the week. In such cases, we can already talk about the development of the pathological process in the stomach and in other parts of the digestive tract, namely:
- duodenitis;
- gastritis;
- ulcer;
- cholecystitis;
- gastroesophageal disease;
- diaphragm hernia.
Burning in the sternum during sleep may indicate the development of cancer in the stomach or esophagus. The main thing is not to confuse this symptom with a heart attack, since the symptoms are very similar.
When should I see a doctor?
In any case, if heartburn hurts day or night, a consultation with a doctor is necessary, and it is best to undergo an examination to avoid the development of a pathological process. It is imperative to seek help if, in addition to the fact that heartburn occurs at night, other symptoms appear:
- diarrhea;
- pain in the epigastric region, behind the sternum;
- high body temperature;
- nausea with vomiting, especially if it is accompanied by bloody discharge.
Dangerous symptoms also include loss of appetite and rapid weight loss. If feces resemble a tarry composition, then this is also an occasion for an early visit to a doctor.
Pregnancy
According to folk wisdom, if a mother carrying a child has heartburn, it means that the baby began to grow hair. In fact, everything is much simpler: when the fetus is inside, the muscle sphincter relaxes due to the huge amount of the hormone progesterone in the body. And it is located between the esophagus and the stomach, so a large amount of acid enters the lower parts of the esophagus, which causes a burning sensation behind the sternum.
Also a possible cause of night heartburn during pregnancy may be a condition in which an enlarged uterus puts strong pressure on neighboring organs, including the intestines and stomach. As a result, even a small amount of food leads to the fact that it is thrown back into the esophagus.
In such situations, of course, you should try to avoid taking any medications. As a preventive measure, doctors recommend eliminating fatty and heavy foods from the diet, eating fractionally, in small portions, 5-6 times a day. You should not go to bed immediately after eating, and also arrange a sleeping place so that the head is in a raised state. Most importantly, heartburn in a pregnant woman does not affect the condition of the unborn child.
How to help yourself with medicines?
If you suffer from heartburn at night during sleep, you can prepare and purchase drugs in the pharmacy that reduce the level of acidity in the stomach. However, it should be understood that despite the fact that such drugs are on sale, their uncontrolled use can lead to complications.
Drugs are recommended to be taken after a plentiful feast. The most common and fast-acting drugs include: Maalox, Almagel, Rennie, Fosfalugel.
How to quickly relieve symptoms if there is no medicine in the medicine cabinet?
Regardless of the reasons, treatment of heartburn at night can be carried out without drugs, home remedies.
To quickly eliminate the symptoms, you can drink mineral water (100 ml), but you need to drink it in small sips. Mineral water is also suitable, but without gas. Water can be replaced with warm milk, which should be drunk 200 milliliters.
The most common way to eliminate heartburn is baking soda. However, it should be understood that if the cause of the burning sensation is unknown, then it is dangerous to take it. If a person has such a condition against a stomach ulcer, then soda will only increase the secretion of acid, as a result, gastric bleeding can begin. Moreover, baking soda eliminates symptoms only for a short period of time.
Activated carbon will help. Crush 5-8 tablets and drink them with water.
Also, with a constant problem, you can keep the calamus root in the house, which during an attack can be chewed very slowly. Nuts, walnuts and peanuts are also suitable, or chewing oats or flax seeds.
Folk remedies
Treatment of heartburn at night can be carried out at home with the help of ordinary buckwheat. If the attacks are frequent, then it is recommended to use croup on an empty stomach daily. First, buckwheat should be fried until it becomes dark brown in color, then chopped. The resulting buckwheat flour is consumed in small volumes, on the tip of a knife, 3 or 4 times throughout the day.
If a diagnosis of gastritis with high acidity is present in the anamnesis, then it is recommended to use raw potato juice. Such juice should be taken throughout the day in half a glass, before meals and at bedtime.
Increased acidity will help reduce fresh carrots or freshly squeezed root juice. Juice is recommended to drink daily for a month, in the morning on an empty stomach.
During an attack, you can absorb a quarter of a teaspoon of ordinary salt.
Medicinal herbs
What to do - heartburn at night? You can make a mixture of herbs.
You need to mix 20 grams of St. John's wort and plantain, add 5 g of chamomile (flowers), mix thoroughly, pour boiling water and insist for one hour. Drink tincture daily 3 times, 1 tablespoon.
To prepare another broth, you need a swamp marshmallow, St. John's wort and yarrow, 20 grams each. Herbs are poured with boiling water in a volume of 1 liter and insist for 2 hours. After straining, drink the tincture in half a glass, 4-5 times throughout the day.
You can make tea from the forest angelica. All parts of the plant, including seeds, are suitable for him. Tea can be drunk 3 times throughout the day by adding 1 pinch of the mixture to a cup.
Calendula flowers will do. One tablespoon of flowers is poured with a glass of boiling water. After the tincture has cooled, it is distributed for the whole day and consumed in small sips.
Oils
In the fight against night heartburn, they can be a good help for oil. In particular, you can use sea buckthorn oil, one teaspoon 3-4 times, before each meal (15 minutes) for 30 days.
Oil can be mixed with the fruits of sea buckthorn, in equal parts. The mixture is insisted for several days. Then store the composition in the refrigerator and use on an empty stomach one tablespoon, or during an attack of heartburn.
You can drink on an empty stomach flaxseed oil one tablespoon or a teaspoon twice a day.
Preventative measures
In no case should you go to bed immediately after eating. Dinner should not be dense and no later than 3-4 hours before going to bed.
Try not to eat too hot or vice versa too cold food. Avoid foods that can cause heartburn. Such foods include spicy foods, spices, oily and sweet. Any carbonated drinks can cause a burning sensation in the sternum. On the menu, focus on foods that are high in fiber, i.e. vegetables and fruits. It is good to eat fish.
Alcohol and cigarettes are also a common cause of heartburn. Medicines are also considered frequent provocateurs of heartburn, so you should not take them uncontrollably.
Refuse to wear tight clothing, especially since it should not be tight during sleep.
If you can not decide on products that provoke a burning sensation in the sternum, start a food diary, write down all the foods that were consumed throughout the day, especially in the evening. Such a simple way will allow you to determine a clear list of harmful food.