Make skillful use of digestion drugs,have a good "Stomach" in Spring Festival

        Before and after the Lunar New Year Festival, the company's tail teeth and spring wine continue to gather with relatives and friends to share delicious meals; however, whether Shanzhen seafood, Man-Han whole table or full, all the food eaten into the stomach is high fat, high sugar, non-digestible food, easy to cause stomach distension, stomachache and other gastrointestinal discomfort symptoms, making people sad to eat and uncomfortable to eat. These may be symptoms of indigestion. Should I see a doctor or go to the pharmacy to buy gastric medicine by myself? In addition, there are hundreds of gastric medicines, which one should be chosen to suit the symptoms?

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        What is indigestion?
         Dyspepsia is a symptom caused by gastric peristalsis, not a disease, which occurs in about 20% of the population every year. Generally speaking, when food arrives in the stomach from the mouth, the stomach will digest the food by mechanical peristalsis and chemical way of secreting gastric digestive enzymes. That is to say, the gastric muscles relax and allow food to enter. Then the gastric wall muscles begin to contract and wriggle, helping food digest into chyme, and evenly mix with digestive enzymes, pushing chyme to the duodenum below the stomach. But if the stomach muscles are not relaxed or the wall muscles are abnormal when eating, it will make the food unable to digest normally, prolong the stay time in the stomach, and also make us feel full and uncomfortable. This symptom may be indigestion.

        Symptoms of indigestion
         When indigestion occurs, the following symptoms may occur:
         1. Feel full before you finish your meal.
         2. Feeling abdominal distension after meals
         3. Pain or burning sensation between upper abdomen (under ribs) and navel (different from gastroesophageal reflux and gastric ulcer)
         4. Easily feel nausea or hiccups

        Possible causes of indigestion
         The following causes may cause indigestion:
         1. Eat too fast or eat too much at a time
         2. Eat high-fat, spicy food
         3. Smoking, drinking and drinking coffee
         4. Too much stress in life
         5. Use certain drugs

        Classification of indigestion
         There are two types of dyspepsia: 1/4 of the people are organic dyspepsia and 3/4 of the people are functional dyspepsia.
         1. Organic dyspepsia:The main causes may be peptic ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux, the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) or gallstones.
         2. Functional dyspepsia:Usually the reason is not clear.

        Drugs for indigestion
         Drugs that relieve indigestion include histamine blockers or hydrogen ion pump blockers, sometimes acid-making agents or gastrointestinal peristaltic agents, as appropriate.
         1. Histamine blocker
         It is mainly to block the preceding steps of secreting gastric acid and reduce the secretion of gastric acid, but it does not have an immediate effect and must be taken on time to be effective. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital has Ranitidine and Welizen.
        
         2. Hydrogen ion pump blocker (PPI, Proton Pump Inhibitor)
         This kind of drug is a later step to inhibit gastric acid secretion and has a comprehensive effect, but it will not have immediate effect as histamine blocker. It needs multiple doses to achieve a stable effect. In addition, it is recommended to take it before meals because its efficacy is susceptible to food.
        
         The items of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital are Nexium, Takepron, Pariet and Dexilant D.R. Among them, Nexium and Takepron can be dissolved in foaming water and applied to patients undergoing tube irrigation; the other two are special dosage forms, which can not be dissolved after soaking. Because grinding can destroy the active ingredients, it is not suitable for grinding.
        
         3. Acidifier
         Acid-making agents contain many metal ions, including sodium (Na), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), which can neutralize stomach acid immediately and reduce stomach pain. They are commonly known as "stomach medicine". However, patients with heart disease, hypertension and nephropathy should be particularly careful when using sodium-containing gastric medicines. As for calcium-containing gastric medicines, they are more likely to produce flatulence. Magnesium-containing gastric medicines have the effect of softening the stool, while aluminum-containing gastric medicines are more likely to produce constipation. Therefore, magnesium and aluminium are often combined into compound gastric medicines to counteract side effects. For example: Far Eastern Memorial Hospital's Iwell, Lederscon, and Strocain, which contains anesthetic and analgesic effects.
        
         Because acid-making agents interact with some antibiotics easily, they should be used at intervals or avoided. If they need to be used at the same time, doctors or pharmacists can be consulted first. In addition, the above drugs are usually chewed and taken (except Xitongjiayin ingot, which has the effect of anesthesia and analgesia, in order to avoid numbness in the residual mouth). If the symptoms have not been improved for a period of time, they should be examined by a doctor.
        
         4. Promoting intestinal peristaltic agents
         It can promote gastrointestinal tract movement, let food leave the stomach as soon as possible, reduce abdominal distension or abdominal pain, and then reduce the feeling of nausea and vomiting. Far Eastern Memorial Hospital is equipped with Primperam, D.M.P. and Mopride. If serious muscle stiffness occurs during use and body involuntary movement occurs, please return to the doctor as soon as possible.

        Maintenance of daily life
         In fact, as long as we pay more attention to daily life, we can reduce the occurrence of gastric symptoms, such as:
         1. Do not smoke or drink
         2. Reduce consumption of caffeinated beverages, carbonated drinks and irritating foods
         3. Eat small meals and slow down.
         4. Reserve plenty of time for meals. Don't do other things while eating, and avoid strenuous exercise after meals.
         5. Record foods that are likely to cause indigestion in life and reduce consumption
         6. Don't eat before going to bed. When sleeping, use pillows or other things to raise your head so that it is higher than your body.
         7. Get enough sleep and reduce stress in life

        Whether you go to the pharmacy to buy gastric medicine or prescribe it by a physician, if it has not improved for a period of time, or if it has worsened (e.g. gastrointestinal bleeding or black stool), please see a doctor as soon as possible. In addition, if you have purchased gastric medicines or are taking other medicines, please also inform your doctor at the time of consultation to avoid taking duplicate medicines or drug interactions. Remind you that changing diet and living habits is the fundamental way to solve gastrointestinal discomfort. Good stomach and intestine can lead to a good New Year every year.

        Reference material:
         1. UpToDate Medical Database
         2. Drug counterfeit list
         3. American Gastroenterological Association