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The hiatus is a small opening in your diaphragm which allows food to travel down the oesophagus, pass through the diaphragm, and into your stomach. It’s a bit like a pipe going through the wall of your house, because your diaphragm separates your chest cavity from the rest of your body.

A hiatus hernia occurs when this small opening (the hiatus), widens temporarily and allows part of the upper area of the stomach to push upwards into the gap in the diaphragm, or protrude further into the chest cavity. Under these circumstances the stomach is nipped. This trapping of your stomach can be temporary, or it can become permanent.

Strangely hiatus hernias are a common condition which occurs in half the population. A hernia can be present when you’re born, or can develop at any time throughout your life when the opening of their hiatus becomes stretched. Sometimes the hiatus can be badly stretched.

The common occurrence of the condition was something I was not aware of. Half the population have hernias but not everyone has the symptoms, so most people aren’t even aware they have one. They can occur because of weight gain, pregnancy, vomiting, straining during bowel movements, or even any sudden movement or physical exertion which may stretch the opening.

Indications that you may be suffering from hiatus hernia include, recurring bouts of indigestion, recurring incidences of heartburn, and acid reflux were stomach acid in small amounts regurgitates involuntary into your mouth.

So if you’re suddenly experiencing acid reflux when lying down to sleep, this could be one possible cause of why this is happening.

So what can you do about it?

* consume 5 - 6 small meals at regular intervals throughout the day
* limit your intake of alcohol including wine, and coffee
* avoid fizzy drinks
* avoid fatty foods
* spoke less
* eat more high fibre foods, breads, salads and raw or lightly cooked vegetables to avoid
constipation
* after eating try to avoid stooping or bending over or lying down
* cut back on foods that would provoke your indigestion
* don’t exercise straight after eating
* try not to eat after 8 o’clock in the evening so you’re not digesting food during your
sleeping hours
* avoid wearing tight fitting clothes
* sleep more upright

If the symptoms are severe your only answer maybe surgery. However surgeons are reluctant to operate on people who are severely overweight. Many people find losing weight difficult and as a result may suffer a hiatus hernias for long periods of time.

Tags: hernia, hiatus hernia, hernia treatment, hernia advice



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An alternative cure to depression

Acupuncture and Depression

Following news which broke yesterday that Prozac, the bestselling antidepressant taken by 40 million people worldwide, does not work and nor do similar drugs in the same class, how can the estimated two million people a year in the UK suffering from depression beat it?

The World Health Organisation (WHO) lists acupuncture as a recognised treatment for depression, so if you’re feeling fed-up or dejected it can help treat the condition. *Research shows that one in 20 of us visit our GP because of depression, making it a modern day epidemic.

Many people are unaware that acupuncture has a long history of use in the treatment of psychiatric disorders in China. It is now increasingly being used both on its own and in conjunction with other therapies, such as psychotherapy and antidepressants, in the UK.

How can acupuncture help?

Chinese Medicine acknowledges that emotional factors play a part in health and that emotional life cannot be separated from the physical. Acupuncturists talk about seven main emotions: joy, worry/overthinking, anger, sadness, grief, fear and fright. It is human nature to experience these feelings – the real problem occurs when we experience them to an excessive degree or don’t experience them at all. For example, a person can get stuck in anger due to harbouring resentment over many years, which in turn may manifest in physical or emotional conditions such as anxiety, depression, or insomnia.

Neil Quinton, acupuncturist and British Acupuncture Council member explains how it can help: “My experience has shown that acupuncture has a lot to offer people suffering from all kinds of depression. It really can be an effective alternative treatment for the condition. I have seen many patients change their lives and move on from a very difficult period - it’s as though acupuncture acts as a catalyst for change. Because it regulates the body’s functioning and with the interconnectedness of mind and body, patients always find that as they feel better their physical complaints improve too.

Research into acupuncture and depression

o A double blind study was conducted among women suffering from depression. The results found that acupuncture was significantly better in treating depression than either sham acupuncture or no treatment at all (1998, Allen et al)

o A further study (2000) found that acupuncture gave signifcant clinical improvement to depression sufferers. The patients were treated by true acupuncture ten times in two weeks and when compared to sham treatments showed a marked improvement. It was found to be especially good for treating anxiety symptoms (2000, Eich et al)

o A 1998 study at University of Arizona into the treatment of depression in 33 women by acupuncture was fairly widely reported in the acupuncture profession and elsewhere. The study found that 64% of the women experienced full remission of depression following depression-specific acupuncture treatment, appearing to show that acupuncture can provide significant symptom relief at rates comparable to standard treatments such as psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy.

o A 2004 study found that acupuncture was an effective treatment for depression during pregnancy. (University of Stanford)

As with all health care treatments, it’s important to find a registered and qualified practitioner. To find a practitioner in your area call the British Acupuncture Council on 020 8735 0400 or visit www.acupuncture.org.uk

BAcC practitioners are available for interview, expert comment and case histories.

For further press information please contact;

Paul Joseph

Mandate Communications

Tel: 0207 379 5000

About the BAcC:

The British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) has a membership of over 2,800 professionally qualified acupuncturists. It is the UK’s largest professional body for the practice of acupuncture.

BAcC members practise a traditional, holistic style of acupuncture diagnosis and treatment based on a system developed and refined over 2,000 years. To achieve BAcC membership, practitioners must first undertake extensive training in traditional acupuncture (minimum three years full-time or part-time equivalent), which includes physiology, anatomy and other biomedical sciences appropriate to the practice of acupuncture.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is an Oriental therapy that aims to improve the overall wellbeing of the patient, rather than treating specific symptoms in isolation.

Traditional Chinese philosophy states that our health is dependent on the body’s motivating energy - known as Qi - moving in a smooth and balanced way through a series of meridians (channels) beneath the skin.

For any number of reasons, Qi may become unbalanced and lead to illness. By inserting fine needles into the channels of energy or Qi, an acupuncturist can stimulate the body’s own healing response and help restore its natural balance.

(This post has been saved as a page in the right margin/sidebar).

Tags: prozac, depression, treatment of depression, acupuncture

The words heart attack strike fear into most people.

It is a situation most people dread to be confronted with, personally finding themselves in the position where they are the one who may have to take action to save a life.

The chances are high that going about your normal business, you will be confronted with this situation. Do you know enough about a heart attack and how to deal with it? If you are out for the evening in company, do you know enough about the warning signs of a heart attack to be alerted if you or a member of your party begins to feel ill?

The warning signs of a heart attack.

First of all let’s take a look at the warning signs of a possible impending heart attack.

Most people mistakenly think that a heart attack occurs suddenly. It can do, but the truth is that most heart attacks start slowly. The first sign is usually a mild pain or discomfort, and the victim realises they are not feeling well. The pain and discomfort may not even be continuous; it may come and go with perhaps even a minute or more in between.

Now we come to a very important point. Delay in seeking medical attention can be fatal. The majority of people at this point take a wait and see approach to their discomfort. They think that what they are feeling is due to something else. Of course it may be, and this is where the difficulty arises.

They are afraid of creating a scene, of spoiling someone’s evening, or of going to hospital and being embarrassed about finding out it was a false alarm.

They wait to see if they begin to feel worse. They think, “If this is a heart attack, then I should be feeling pain in my chest and pain in my left arm. If I don’t, then I’m probably feeling ill from something else.”

But this is wrong thinking. Not everyone feels the same symptoms, or experiences them intensely. You may feel short of breath. You may feel pressure, a feeling of fullness, pain, or even a squeezing in your chest. The onset may follow the initial warning quickly, or it may take several minutes for your condition to deteriorate to this point.

You may feel uncomfortable in other areas of your upper body. This can include pain, ache, or just discomfort in one or both arms, pain or discomfort in your stomach, jaw, neck, or back. Some people experience no pain in their arms.

The minute you feel unwell and realise the symptoms may just possibly be warning signs of a heart attack, you should get yourself to hospital.

If you can take aspirin, take a regular strength aspirin tablet, chew it and swallow it. Aspirin slows down blood clotting.

Don’t attempt to drive yourself unless it is absolutely unavoidable, and even then you should only drive as far as the nearest help that is available. You should get yourself to hospital by taxi, (tell the driver you are suffering symptoms of a possible heart attack), or if you are starting to experience chest pain and other or serious signs, don’t hesitate to get an ambulance. At the least with an ambulance you will be getting medical attention on the way to hospital.

Most people wait an average of two hours before reaching the ‘I need help’ stage. A lot of people have died needlessly in the hospital car park before actually reaching casualty.

Delaying in seeking medical assistance can kill you, or at best, seriously hamper your chances of a physical recovery to a near level of activity experienced prior to the heart attack.

What to do if a person collapses.

You will be faced with one of two situations. The person will be conscious or unconscious.

Your immediate priority is to make sure neither yourself nor the casualty is in any danger from third parties, or outside influences. If you have to move them then do so, or get help from others to protect you and the casualty.

Absolutely the first thing you should do is call an ambulance. If you are alone, without a mobile phone, or in a situation where you are unable to call an ambulance immediately, then your first priority is to get that help.

Shout for help. If help is unavailable, then you must do what you can for the casualty immediately, leave and seek help urgently. If you don’t the person will probably die if their condition deteriorates to the point of them stopping breathing. You can only help by remaining if you are certain help is on the way.

If conscious, get them into a ‘W’ sitting up position if they feel able to do so. If not make them as comfortable as possible in the position found. If you have to leave them, place them comfortably in the recovery position and then leave to get help. If an aspirin tablet is available and they are able to take it (not allergic), let them, otherwise don’t.

Stay with them and watch carefully for breathing, response level, and if you are able, monitor their pulse until help arrives. At this point also start looking for others who are willing to help with CPR should it be needed. CPR is tiring for one person to do alone and is best given by several people in relay.

If unconscious, or no response.

Remember ABC – Airway, Breathing, Circulation.

* Airway – gently tilt the head back to lift the persons tongue away from the back of their mouth. This is vital to open the airway and is easily overlooked by most people just trying to do their best in this situation who have no real knowledge of first aid. Failure to do this will means any attempt to give artificial respiration will not work, but the person attempting will think they are helping when in fact they are not.

* Breathing - if they are breathing normally, then place in the recovery position and watch them carefully until help arrives. Be prepared to move into CPR if the person’s breathing deteriorates, or stops completely. (CPR means Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and is a medical procedure similar to the ‘Kiss of Life’ with accompanying circulation of blood by external compression of the heart). This is something that you should seek more information on, and if possible seek first aid instruction in.

When I say breathing normally, I mean just that. If the person is gasping
for breath with gaps between, or the breathing sounds like faint or loud snoring and takes over 10 seconds for the next raspy breath to occur, then this is a danger sign that the body is about to shut down. It’s called Agonal Breathing, and if this happens you must move into CPR immediately. Agonal breathing normally occurs when there is no responsiveness from the casualty.

* Circulation – check that the person is not bleeding from a wound, and if they are you must take steps when possible to treat it. The priority however is survival – airway and breathing first.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation CPR.

I’m not going to go into great detail about the technique of CPR except briefly as there are expert websites on the internet that go into great detail of what and what not to do.

The correct and safe learning of the technique is something for physical hands on instruction course involving a resuscitation dummy called Resusci Anne.

Most people do have an idea what to do. So I will simply state that you need to get the casualty flat on their back, open the airway as shown above, (checking for obstructions such as false teeth and removing any), and loosen clothing around the chest, and pinch the nose.

Give two rescue breaths checking that the chest rises and falls (if it doesn’t the airway is not open – tilt the head further back – check for obstruction again).

Immediately placing your hands one on top of the other in the centre of the chest fingers interlocked just on the bottom of the central chest bone and using the heels of your hands, depress the chest downwards about 5 centimetres quickly for 30 compressions at the rate of two per second. The recommended rate is 100m compressions per minute, but attempt it at 2 per second as you will slow naturally to the rate recommended as you begin to tire.

Continue with rescue breathing and CPR until help arrives.

For further information and instruction including an audio lesson on CPR go here to the St.John Ambulance website.

Life is unpredictable. You may be glad you took the chance for more instruction, or
just even read this article within the next few weeks. At the very least you will be a lot more confident if you are suddenly faced with this situation, and you may just save the life of someone you love. I wish you good fortune.

Tags: heart attack, cpr, resuscitation, agonal breathing, heart attack signs



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