Read
on to know how pillows for GERD can provide the
much needed relief.
Gastroesophageal
reflux disease is caused due to several reasons,
the principal among them being a weakened lower
esophageal sphincter or LES. The LES is supposed
to work as a one-way valve that should only allow
entry of food and beverages coming through the
esophagus and going into the stomach, remaining
totally shut at all other times. But due to muscle
fatigue or some other reasons, it occasionally
leaks acidic stomach contents back into the
esophagus, causing moderate to severe heartburn
and related discomfort. Known as acid reflux, it
affects millions of Americans all the year round
and is a source of immense distress to males and
females alike.
The situation becomes quite
alarming during the sleeping hours as compared to
the day time when the acid is prevented from
climbing up into the esophagus partly due to the
action of the gravity which acts against it. But
when a person reclines in bed, no such help from
the gravitational force is available to the GERD
patient. However, acid reflux pillows may come to
help whereNewton's first
law of gravitational force does not seem to be
relevant for all practical
purposes.
Most
of these pillows for GERD work by raising the head
and the neck slightly above the torso, thereby
averting the backflow of the acid into the
esophagus which would otherwise have refluxed back
to the food tube. While some of the more popular
pillows for GERD provide a gradient from near
level to a height of six inches or more that takes
care of the head and neck both at the same time
(raising only the head would create more
complications), others are inflatable, allowing
the user to adjust the height according to
individual comfort and
console.
Popularly
called prop-up pillows, wedge pillows or slant
pillows, they all aim to relieve GERD distress so
commonly experienced by acid reflux patients by
way of preventing acid reflux at night when it
becomes all the more
dreadful.
Pillows
for GERD made from 100% hypoallergenic
polyurethane foam are usually available in 32"
length x 24" width with the highest point reaching
7" that fully support the upper torso of adult
male or female GRED patients. Pillows in varying
specification may be ordered according to choice
of individuals while the comfort waves of all
provide more relaxed sleep coupled with better air
circulation. Pillows for GERD are specially
created to encourage sleeping on the side or on
the back.
Yes,
the pillows may offer a temporary relief, but this
relief is often short lived because what the
sufferer really needs is a permanent treat from the
ailment. To achieve this, the
contributing factors of the disease need to be
identified and then these factors need to be
challenged. Holistic medicines can do this
wonderfully well. Holistic remedies treat the body
as a whole and not just the symptoms of the
disease and this is why this stream of treatment
is so successful with
heartburn.
Conventional
medications do not treat the body as a whole. But
the fact is that, GERD is complicated and can
often due to many reasons and so all these
probable sources need to be investigated - and
this is only possible when the body is treated as
a whole.
