Coping with a Hiatal Hernia

You may have recently been diagnosed with a hiatal hernia, but what exactly does this mean to you? Maybe you left the doctor's office with questions you didn't think to ask or you are still left with an unease of your this diagnosis. A hiatal hernia is when a part of your stomach protrudes upward through the diaphragm. The small opening of the diaphragm, the hiatus allows food to pass through to the stomach, this is also known as the esophagus. With a hiatal hernia the stomach pushes up through the hitus causing the hernia.

Most hiatal hernias do not cause problems because they are small in nature and most people do not even know they have a hiatal hernia unless a doctor is checking on another disorder and happens across a hiatal hernia, a larger hiatal hernia is another story though and can lead to food and acid backing up into the esophagus. By the food and acid backing up into the esophagus this can lead to heartburn and chest pain.

There are different ways a hiatal hernia, a personal can take self-care approach to with watching their diet and medications. While the modifications in the diet do not cure the hiatal hernia they will lesson if not completely remove the symptoms these include: avoiding caffeine, chocolate, fried or fatty foods, peppermint, and alcohol, meals should not be consumed 2-3 hours prior to bedtime, meals should be small frequent meals instead of larger meals.

There are also some modifications you can take in your behaviors that can also help you to become more comfortable with a hiatal hernia these include exercising more, losing eight, sleeping at an incline, improving your posture, reduce heavy lifting, bending over and straining, after eating it also better to stand then to sit or recline.

Over the counter medication such as Mylanta, Gaviscon, Tums and Maalox will help lesson acute symptoms while medications such as Tagamet, Pepcid, Zantac and Axid help prevent symptoms when taken on a regular basis. Before taking any medications regularly you should check with your family physician.

For larger hiatal hernias sometimes there is a need for surgical repair. Surgical repairing of a hiatal hernia is usually reserved for those types of patients who do not respond to medications or who are in an emergency situation. This type of surgery involves having the stomach pulled down into the abdomen and having the hitus made smaller, possibly reconstructing the esophageal sphincter if it's weak and this time the surgeon would opt to remove the hernia sac. This surgery is done with by a thoracotomy (small single incision in chest wall) or lapartomy (small incision in abdominal cavity).

Sources: Mayo Clinic www.mayoclinic.com
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