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Throughout the month of Ramadan, Yabiladi offers you daily health advice. For this sixteenth capsule in our “Allô Doc” series, zoom in on gastroduodenal reflux, also called “heartburn”, its symptoms and treatments with doctor Oussama Lafkih.
Gastroduodenal reflux is the rise in the esophagus which connects the mouth to the stomach of part of the contents of the latter. The esophagus is poorly resistant to stomach secretions, this gastroduodenal reflux can therefore cause inflammation of the esophagus, giving rise to burning sensations and irritation.
“This return from the stomach to the esophagus is caused by the lower esophageal sphincter which normally acts as a valve controlling the passage of food into the stomach and which, due to a malfunction, no longer fulfills its role”, explains Oussama Lafkih, resident doctor in gastrointestinal surgery at the CHU Ibn Rochd in Casablanca.
Two treatment methods
The food contained in the stomach and mixed with gastric acidity therefore returns to the level of the esophagus and burns it, he explains.
“Additionally, among the symptoms of this gastroesophageal reflux disease, heartburn is a burning sensation starting from the pit of the stomach and going up to the mouth. If the person bows, it feels like the food is coming to their mouth.”
Oussama Lafkih
For the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux, the doctor distinguishes between two methods: physiological and medicinal. “For the first, it’s mainly methods that we have to change”, he continues, recalling that during the holy month, “the person must try not to eat everything at the same time”. And in the sleep phase, it is important for the person to put an extra pillow in order to prevent reflux, he advises.
As for the drug method, “although it involves antacids and antagonists to limit the complications of reflux, which can cause ulcerationslesions and even stenoses, you must first consult your doctor because it is case by case”, he concludes.