Everything You Need To Know About Hiatal Hernia Symptoms
Treatment, Home Remedies, Diet and Lifestyle

Hiatal Hernia Home Remedies

Below is a list of remedies which I consider the best of the best in heartburn treatment. No matter how bad my heartburn was these remedies always worked for me.

Slippery elm

Over the course of living with heartburn and GERD I discovered this herbal treatment which is extremely effective. I mostly use it in the form of the powder and make a tea out of it. This tea isn't very tasty (it actually tastes like a glue :) but it covers stomach and esophagus with gel like liquid which protects them from acid. Usually one cup of this tea is good enough to have almost zero heartburn through the night and in the morning. You can add some sugar or other tasty ingredients to this tea to make it taste good without changing its protective qualities. Just make sure that it has consistency of a cream soup when you prepare it otherwise it won't be effective.

Wedge pillow

Acid reflux wedge pillow is an innovative sleep solution. It was scientifically designed just to help acid reflux sufferers. It relieves acid reflux by elevating your head, shoulders and upper body as doctors recommend. It helps you to sleep in a natural position for controlling heartburn, respiratory problems and digestion ailments.

I've recently read a published paper from Dr. Andrew H. Soll and Dr. Ronnie Fass "Gastroesophageal Reflux: Practical Management of a Common, Challenging Disorder". In this paper they recommend the use of positional therapy to treat mild to moderate nighttime heartburn symptoms. They claim that "elevating the head of the bed is as effective as H2RA therapy in reducing nighttime reflux." When you're sleeping on the incline your body is in position when it is very difficult for acid to get into your esophagus and hurt it. The only case when acid can get there is if you have a severe acid reflux which also occurs in standing or sitting position. According to another study acid reflux patients can see up to 67% improvement in the speed of esophagus clearance from acid following a heartburn episode.

Diaphragm training

If you read couple books on GERD and hiatal hernia you know that weakness of lower esophageal valve could be because of the weakness in your diaphragm. Diaphragm is one of the key muscles in your body which controls breathing process. Strong diaphragm is going to help your esophageal valve and reduce your heartburn.

One way to improve your diaphragm is to do some advanced yoga and study pranayama (deep breathing).

But for myself I found much more simple exercise. I got it from one experienced Russian doctor who recommended it not only for the heartburn but for a lot of other diaphragm related conditions. This exercise is very simple (though not many people know about it).

Purchase some party balloons and blow couple of them once a day. When blowing air into the balloon you use considerably more energy than when just breathing. This way you have not only to work with your chest but with your diaphragm too. The principle is exactly the same as with any other exercise. If you want to train some muscle you need to make it strain. And when you blow the balloons you're doing it with your diaphragm.

I hope you will enjoy this "party" exercise!