A gurgling sound coming from your belly, an inability to zip your pants up, or a burning sensation in your stomach. It doesn’t let you focus on anything except that unpleasant feeling. Does any of these sound familiar to you? The medical staff at our Urgent Care in Spring Hill help patients with stomach problems on a regular basis and they know that there is a lot of misconceptions about stomach health as well as how to cope with any abdominal discomfort. In today’s article we’re revealing five common myths about the stomach. Let’s find out how many of them you have heard of!
It has been believed for many years that spicy food is the main culprit behind stomach ulcers. Nothing could be further from the truth. As much as those foods may irritate an already existing ulcer, they definitely can’t be blamed for its development. It’s been proven that most stomach ulcers that patients suffer from are caused by bacteria called Helicobacter pylori.
Another myth is to claim that stress causes inflammatory bowel disease. Much like the belief of spicy food and ulcers, stress may aggravate the IBD, but it isn’t its root cause. It is still unknown what really triggers IBD. It is possible that genetics has something to do with the development of this condition. Talk to one of our physicians at Urgent Care in Spring Hill about your symptoms and they will help you diagnose whether you have IBD or IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), which are not the same yet often confused by people.
There are many misconstrued concepts surrounding the idea of how to make the stomach shrink. One of them is the idea that crunches and sit ups will help you reduce the size of your stomach. Another common one is that while working out may contribute to losing an excessive amount of fat and tighten the abdomen muscles, it won’t shrink your stomach, unless you undergo surgery.
Not all people who have lactose intolerance react to dairy products in the same way. Some of them get sick after drinking half a glass of milk whereas others can drink even two and still show no symptoms. It’s exactly the same case with cheese, yogurt, or ice-cream. Individuals should find out by trial and error which foods they should avoid at any cost and those with which they should simply limit consumption.
Don’t let that very common belief that smoking will help you with your heartburn delude you. It’s another myth that has nothing to do with the truth. Quite the opposite, smoking may actually lead to heartburn by relaxing the muscle between the esophagus and stomach which allows the stomach acid to back up into the esophagus and causes reflux. All of our physicians at Lifeguard Urgent Care in Spring Hill will give you the same advice. So if you are desperate to get rid of your acid reflux and heartburn – quit smoking today!
If you suffer from any gastrointestinal problems, don’t be embarrassed and visit Lifeguard Urgent Care in Spring Hill as soon as possible. There is no appointment necessary, simply walk in and our medical staff will give you the professional care that you need at an affordable cost.