Dyspepsia, indigestion and upset stomach are the terms used to describe impaired digestion in someone’s body. Symptoms of this condition might be mild, if a person ate too much food or spoiled food, but dyspepsia may also be a serious problem. Severe indigestion is known to cause significant discomfort and force people to miss the work and stay at home. Also, this condition may provoke quite a bit of pain and patients might try many expensive solutions or even surgical procedures for dyspepsia, without much success.
Earlier, dyspepsia was considered to be psychosomatic condition, without any actual physical causes. Modern medicine, however, considers indigestion the problem which may have causes in the malfunction of a person’s nervous system or muscular activity of digestive system.
What is Dyspepsia Like?
If you ever heard someone complaining about feeling sick in the stomach or saying he or she has nervous stomach it is very likely that the person actually has dyspepsia.
People suffering from dyspepsia often complain about nauseous feeling, heartburn, vomiting and bloating or fullness for a long time after the meal. Some patients experience stomach discomfort and stomach pains, while there are also those suffering from regurgitation (backwash) of stomach acid into the mouth or esophagus. These symptoms may occur because of some condition or disorder in the body or simply because the person ate spoiled food. Sometimes, there is no explanation why someone has dyspepsia.
Usually, symptoms last for several days, but they can also last much longer and be a serious medical problem. 16 to 60 years old women are most likely to experience this condition, especially during pregnancy.
What Can Cause Dyspepsia?
Indigestion can be caused by several reasons, including some digestive and other conditions and disorders, such as inflammation of the stomach (gastritis), stomach flu, ulcers and cancers of the stomach. Diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gallbladder and pancreas problems have also been identified as possible causes of dyspepsia. Yet another possible explanation for this stomach problem may be pregnancy and many pregnant women experience these symptoms.
However, in some cases there are no digestive disorders present but patients still experience pain and discomfort caused by dyspepsia.
Indigestion Treatment
Dyspepsia associated with gastrointestinal diseases and disorders are treated for the primary cause of the disease. If there is no specific cause of this condition, proper diet is found to be helpful in most patients. These people should avoid solid food with meat, greasy food and dairy products (if they are intolerant to lactose in milk). Liquid diet and soft foods are recommended for more prominent symptoms of indigestion.
Medications are commonly used for persistent bothersome symptoms of this condition and doctors usually recommend antacids and H2 (histamine 2 receptor) blockers.
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