The Impact of Indigestion on Quality of Life
One of the greatest pleasures bestowed upon human beings by God is the joy of eating and drinking. However, in today’s busy world, many people suffer from the debilitating effects of indigestion, significantly impacting their daily lives. Shockingly, statistical data reveals that one in four adults has either experienced or is currently undergoing treatment for indigestion, making it a chronic disease that affects modern society.
The Symptoms and Types of Indigestion
Indigestion refers to a condition characterized by digestive dysfunction, primarily manifesting in the middle of the upper abdomen. This dysfunction affects the various components of the digestive system, resulting in symptoms such as heartburn, nausea, pain in the solar plexus, post-prandial satiety (a feeling of tightness in the upper abdomen), and early satiety (a feeling of fullness soon after eating and an inability to consume more).
There are two main types of indigestion: organic dyspepsia, which occurs due to peptic ulcers or stomach cancer, and functional dyspepsia, which does not show any abnormalities during endoscopy. The term indigestion typically refers to functional indigestion, where no significant abnormalities are detected through important tests.
The Complex Causes of Functional Dyspepsia
Functional dyspepsia often has no clearly identifiable cause. It may be attributed to various factors such as impaired gastric emptying due to abnormal exercise, gastric adaptation disorder, hypersensitivity to gastric acid, Helicobacter pylori infection, mild inflammation of the duodenum, as well as environmental and psychological factors.
Accurate Diagnosis and Timely Treatment
Accurate diagnosis of indigestion involves a comprehensive physical examination, including history taking and abdominal examination, general blood tests, Helicobacter pylori infection tests, gastroscopy, and abdominal ultrasound/CT examination. It is particularly crucial to seek immediate medical attention if you experience indigestion symptoms for the first time in your 40s or older, have chronic symptoms but have never undergone a proper checkup, or exhibit symptoms of unexplained weight loss, frequent vomiting, or gastrointestinal bleeding. In such cases, further investigation for digestive diseases such as stomach cancer, peptic ulcers, or gallstones is recommended.
Treatment Approaches for Functional Dyspepsia
Given the multifactorial nature of functional dyspepsia, various treatment approaches are utilized, including diet therapy, exercise, and drug therapy. Each patient may respond differently to different foods, making it essential to adopt a personalized diet. It is advisable to avoid foods that trigger indigestion symptoms and develop healthy eating habits, such as refraining from overeating, eating slowly, and maintaining regular meal times. Additionally, minimizing consumption of fatty foods, beans, onions, carbonated drinks, and chocolate can help alleviate symptoms. Patients may also find that dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt worsen their indigestion. Rice-based foods tend to provoke fewer indigestion symptoms compared to those made from wheat. Opting for tea instead of coffee and avoiding spicy foods that cause heartburn and indigestion are recommended.
Research suggests that patients with indigestion engage in less physical exercise compared to the general population. Moderate exercises like walking or aerobic exercises have been found to improve symptoms. Medications such as gastric acid secretion inhibitors or gastrointestinal motility stimulants are also used in drug treatments. Additionally, patients with functional dyspepsia may experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. If symptoms are not adequately controlled through lifestyle modifications and medications, antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications may be prescribed.
Expert Advice and Considerations
Dr. Hong Jin-heon, director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Seran Hospital, emphasizes the importance of identifying and avoiding factors, including specific foods, emotions, and environmental triggers, that contribute to or worsen indigestion symptoms. He advises against unnecessary endoscopy procedures solely based on indigestion symptoms. However, individuals with a family history of stomach cancer or persistent indigestion symptoms that do not respond to medical interventions should undergo endoscopy to differentiate between other diseases such as reflux esophagitis or stomach cancer.
Among the many pleasures that God has given to human beings, ‘the joy of eating and drinking’ is foremost. At this time, digestive capacity has a great impact on the quality of human life. It is surprising that there are many people around us who suffer from ‘indigestion’ in their busy daily lives. According to statistical data, one in four adults has experienced or is being treated for indigestion. Indigestion is a chronic disease that affects modern people.
Indigestion refers to cases where the symptoms of digestive dysfunction are mainly located in the middle of the upper abdomen, which is related to the dysfunction of the digestive system. It includes various symptoms such as heartburn, nausea, and pain in the solar plexus, as well as ‘post-prandial satiety’, which is a feeling of tightness in the upper part of the abdomen, and ‘early satiety’, which is a feeling of be. full soon after eating and unable to eat anymore.
Indigestion is divided into ‘organic dyspepsia’, which occurs due to peptic ulcers or stomach cancer, and ‘functional dyspepsia’, which does not show any particular abnormalities during endoscopy. Indigestion usually refers to functional indigestion that does not show any abnormal findings in important tests.
In many cases, the cause of functional dyspepsia is not clearly known. There are various causes such as reduced gastric emptying capacity due to abnormal exercise, gastric adaptation disorder, hypersensitivity to gastric acid, Helicobacter pylori infection, mild inflammation of the duodenum, and environmental and psychological factors.
Diagnosis is made by physical examination including history taking and abdominal examination, general blood test, Helicobacter pylori infection test, gastroscopy, and abdominal ultrasound/CT examination. In the meantime, if you have symptoms of indigestion for the first time in your 40s or older, if you have chronic symptoms but have never had a proper checkup, if you have symptoms of unexplained weight loss, frequent vomiting, or gastrointestinal bleeding, you should check for other digestive diseases such as stomach cancer, peptic ulcer, or gallstones You can doubt that. It is advisable to carry out diagnostic tests early.
As functional dyspepsia is caused by the complex action of several factors, treatment is approached in a variety of ways. It is divided into diet therapy, exercise and drug therapy. Responses to food vary from patient to patient. The patient must eat foods suitable for him as a diet. It is best to avoid foods that cause indigestion when eaten. Bad eating habits, such as overeating, eating quickly, or eating irregularly, worsen the symptoms of indigestion.
It is best to avoid fatty foods as much as possible. Beans and onions make indigestion symptoms worse, as do carbonated drinks and chocolate. Dairy products such as milk, cheese and yoghurt also worsen indigestion symptoms in some patients. Foods made from rice cause fewer symptoms of indigestion than foods made from wheat. It is better to drink tea than coffee, and if you experience heartburn and indigestion after eating spicy food, you are advised to avoid it.
There is a research report that shows that patients who complain of symptoms of indigestion exercise less than normal people. Moderate exercise, such as walking or aerobic exercise, helps improve symptoms. There are also drug treatments that use gastric acid secretion inhibitors or gastrointestinal motility stimulants. Patients with functional dyspepsia may also complain of depression and anxiety. If the symptoms are not controlled by basic lifestyle changes and medications and the symptoms are severe, antidepressants or anti-anxiety medications may be used.
Hong Jin-heon, director of the Department of Internal Medicine at Seran Hospital, said, “For indigestion, we need to identify the food, emotional and environmental factors that cause or worsen symptoms and avoid them first. ” He added, “There is no need to perform an endoscopy unconditionally just because you have symptoms of indigestion. However, if there is a family history of stomach cancer or persistent symptoms of indigestion that do not respond to medical treatment, endoscopy should be performed to differentiate between diseases such as reflux esophagitis or stomach cancer.”
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