Reflux Disease (GERD)
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- What is GERD?
- Symptoms of GERD
- Causes of GERD
- Prevention of GERD
- Risk factors for GERD
- Complications of GERD
- When to see a doctor about GERD
- Diagnosis of GERD
- Conventional treatment of GERD
- Alternative/complementary treatment of GERD
- Living with GERD
- Caring for someone with GERD
Caring for someone with gastro-eosophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Partner
The best way to help a partner with GERD is to be supportive and sympathetic, but also the following can be helpful too:
- Avoiding smoking inside - people with GERD need to be away from any cigarette smoke, as it can exacerbate their symptoms
- Eating smaller meals - help your partner to eat smaller meals by joining them in eating smaller meals, as this helps support your partner a great deal. Cooking and eating smaller meals is one way to help reduce the load on the digestive system by reducing the amount of food that needs to be digested and absorbed
- Encourage a healthy diet - a healthy diet is one which has adequate amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrains, legumes, protein and healthy fats and has little or no processed foods
- Encourage exercise - going for walks (or joining a gym together) with your partner is a great way to bond. Exercise helps to improve circulation, reduces stress and encourages better health overall
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Friends
People who have a friend who has GERD can support their friend by the following:
- Dinner parties - if you invite your friend to a dinner party, try to ensure there is food that they can eat. The best way to do this is to ask what foods are off limits for them and ensure to let them know beforehand which foods they should avoid
- Discourage alcohol - if your friend has GERD, they should be limiting alcohol intake as it can cause a worsening of symptoms, so try to make your social meetings ones that are alcohol free
Parents
Parents of a child who has gastritis can support their child by:
- Avoid smoking inside - people with gastritis need to be away from any cigarette smoke, as it can exacerbate their symptoms
- Cooking smaller meals - this is one way to help reduce the load on the child's digestive system by reducing the amount of food that needs to be digested and absorbed and possibly reduce symptoms
- Probiotics - introduce some probiotics to the child's diet, preferably in powder form as it can be more easily assimilated into other foods, but the tablets can also be taken if this is not successful
- Psyllium - find creative ways to add psyllium to foods (smoothies, breakfast cereal, muesli, sauces, shakes) in the child's diet. Psyllium is a soluble fibre which has a gel-like consistency in the digestive tract and helps to promote the health of the whole gastrointestinal system
- Simple strategies for babies - putting a baby on its side when feeding is a simple way of reducing reflux symptoms; thickening the feed in older babies (older than four months) with non-GMO maize flour; slightly raise the head of the cot to have gravity help reduce reflux symptoms
- Slippery elm - find creative ways to add slippery elm to foods (smoothies, breakfast cereal, muesli) in the child's diet. Slippery elm is one of the herbs most beneficial for any type of digestive disorder, but especially one in which there is irritation and damage to the intestinal wall and the intestinal mucosa
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