The Pit of the Stomach 'Pokes'... Don't Eat and Lie Down Even If You're Cold and Drowsy!

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Most Common in Winter

Unexplained Abdominal Pain May Indicate Heart or Other Issues

[Image source=Clipart Korea]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] In winter, the weather gets cold and sunlight decreases, making it easy to feel lethargic and significantly reducing physical activity.

With COVID-19 and its variants rampant, people are forced into non-face-to-face interactions, leading to an increase in unwanted “bangkok” days at home. The surge in subscribers to media content services such as internet broadcasts and movies is for the same reason.

Medical experts point out that lying down right after meals while holding the remote control may be immediately comfortable but is fatal to digestive health.

Between the esophagus and stomach in the body, there is an esophageal sphincter muscle that only opens when burping or swallowing food and remains closed at other times to prevent food from refluxing.

Lying down immediately after eating causes stomach acid or food to reflux into the esophagus, leading to inflammation known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

GERD often occurs not only due to the habit of lying down right after meals but also during winter when immunity is lowered and New Year gatherings are frequent. Causes can also include excessive drinking, overeating, or late-night snacks.

According to the National Health Insurance Service’s disease statistics on public interest diseases, the number of GERD cases was highest in December each year: 763,930 in December 2018, 815,242 in December 2019, and 785,955 in December 2020.

Typical symptoms include heartburn, a burning sensation or pain in the upper abdomen. It can also manifest as a foreign body sensation in the throat, hoarseness, sour regurgitation, and chronic cough.

Diagnosis can be made through symptom assessment and endoscopic examination. Most cases become chronic diseases with frequent recurrence, requiring continuous medication.

While taking medication to reduce stomach acid secretion, it is necessary to identify the exact cause of reflux and apply additional drug treatment or improve lifestyle habits.

Complications such as ulcers, esophageal bleeding and strictures, and asthma can occur due to acid reflux, so treatment to prevent these should be conducted simultaneously.

For digestive health in winter, it is better not to overeat and to eat small amounts divided throughout the day rather than large portions at once.

It is advisable to reduce intake of chocolate, garlic, onions, cinnamon, alcohol, and other items that lower lower esophageal sphincter pressure, as well as sour fruit juices or carbonated drinks that irritate the esophageal mucosa.

Since lying down immediately after meals causes food to reflux, it is recommended to maintain a time gap of about three hours between eating and lying down or sleeping.

Specialists recommend that if you inevitably eat late or have a late-night snack, you should take a light walk to aid digestion before going to bed.

People often reach for digestive medicine when feeling a stabbing pain in the upper abdomen, but abdominal pain can originate from the stomach, small intestine, or large intestine, and sometimes from other causes such as the heart. Therefore, it is important to visit a medical institution with a gastroenterology specialist for diagnosis.

Kim Ji-yeon, head of the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Center at Daedong Hospital, said, “In the cold winter, the body feels heavy and greasy foods can negatively affect digestive function, so it is important to maintain good lifestyle habits.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.