The majority of symptoms of hiatal hernia are next to nothing because most types of hiatal hernias are of the sliding kind, not associated with any kind of symptoms.
Let’s start off saying what an hernia is and that’s generally speaking an internal body part that pushes into an area where it’s not supposed to do so or where it does not belong.
Hiatal hernia has to do with your stomach and the upper part of it in connection with the esophagus, “ food pipe” or “gullet”, the opening in the diaphragm that connects the two, and a non natural pushing of the stomach upwards into that area that is protected by a valve that is not supposed to let anything go up.
Very often hiatal hernias are associated with GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) although the connection of the two has not been completely understood. In fact people with GERD are more likely to have hiatal hernia but it is also true that people with hiatal hernia not necessarily had GERD nor will develop it.
Symptoms of hiatal hernia that are of relevance happen when both these diseases are present.
The most common …
- Heartburn
- Acid reflux
- Chest pain
- Nausea
- Gurgling noises in your chest
- Hiccups
- Belching
- Asthma symptoms
- Croaky voice
- Shortness of breath
- Heart palpitations
As you can see all these symptoms also mean many other diseases or complications or disorders, and that’s why hiatal hernia has been called from many sources “The Great Mimic”. As a matter of fact reading the symptoms listed we might as well be talking about heart attacks or over acid stomach, an ulcer, even a lung disease, so it is very important to stress that your doctor is the first person you should refer to providing him with as much details as possible about the symptoms you are experiencing.
What can you do to avoid having a hiatal hernia?
Unfortunately pretty much nothing it seems. But there are some things that can help preventing it. Being the stomach involved, eating is a major facto so if you identify some foods make you feel bad, start avoiding them. If you feel heavy when lying down maybe you are over eating or not giving yourself the time to advance enough in the digestive process before doing so.
Some foods are known to aggravate this situation if it is present and those are …
- Acidic food
- Hot foods and drinks
- Spicy food
Even drinking alcohol or smoking or being overweight are things that don’t help.
Should I take medicines if I think I have hiatal hernia?
Medicines should only be taken following the advice of a physician, your family doctor maybe. However be informed that taking medicines will only happen once you have been correctly diagnosed having hiatal hernia, meaning that you will probably have to take them forever, unless in the future you will have to go furtherer and consider a surgery solution. Taking medicines means you are stopping the symptoms of hiatal hernia, not curing it. Usually its an antiacid type of medicine.
What does surgery do to correct the hiatal hernia complication?
The most written about surgery found on the internet is an operation that aims to tighten the hiatus or hiatal area, below the diaphragm where the pushing of the stomach upwards happens, so to stop it from doing that and keeping the acid reflux from bubbling up. It takes about 3-4 days in the hospital to undergo the operation and after that you will need about another week before getting back to your daily routines.
Surgery will always be the last option, once medicines are proved non effective or have to be stopped for whatever reasons, after alternative methods do not work, after a correct diagnosis of the disease and once your doctor suggested it as last solution. There is a very high success rate for this kind of surgery.