Gastrointestinal diseases among urbanites – office workers are most likely to suffer from gastritis, acid reflux, and irritable bowel syndrome

August 27, 2020
Health Info

Gastrointestinal problems trouble many office workers. Stomach pain, constipation, diarrhea and bloating often make people unable to concentrate and affect their work progress. To relieve discomfort, you should first identify the problem and then prescribe the right medicine to rebuild a healthy gastrointestinal system.

Gastrointestinal problems are very common among urbanites. Some people take gastrointestinal medicines and laxatives to solve the problem immediately when they experience discomfort, but they tend to ignore the health warning signs behind their physical discomfort. Although most people's gastrointestinal discomfort is caused by minor problems such as stress or improper diet, if it is not properly treated, it can lead to serious illness.

Common gastrointestinal problems among office workers can be summarized into three types:

Gastritis
Acid Reflux
Irritable bowel syndrome

Gastritis can cause stomach ulcers

Gastritis is caused by bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori. Patients will have symptoms similar to indigestion such as nausea, vomiting, and upper abdominal pain. Although the initial discomfort is not serious, if ignored, it may lead to gastric ulcers.

Ulcers are caused by holes or cracks in the stomach wall. Ulcers usually occur in the esophagus (a small tube between the throat and the stomach) or the duodenum (the upper part of the small intestine). In addition to the symptoms of gastritis, patients may also experience loss of appetite, stomach swelling, chest burning, etc. In severe cases, they may suffer from gastric bleeding. Therefore, if you find that your stool is black, it may be gastric bleeding, and you must seek medical attention immediately.

In terms of prevention, many clinics or laboratories now provide Helicobacter pylori testing. Excessive bacteria can be controlled with medications prescribed by doctors. Gastritis can be effectively controlled with healthy eating habits.

Acid reflux increases the risk of esophageal cancer

After eating, patients may experience discomfort such as acid reflux, chest burning, gas, increased saliva secretion, hoarseness, sore throat and cough. In addition to causing trouble to the patient, these symptoms may cause the acid to continuously burn the esophagus in the long term, causing esophageal damage and scabs, making it difficult for patients to swallow food due to esophageal narrowing. The cells in the esophagus may also mutate and lead to esophageal cancer.

Obese people are more likely to suffer from acid reflux and should consider losing weight; reducing the amount of food consumed at each meal, eating less high-fat foods, drinking less coffee, smoking and drinking less, not eating two hours before going to bed, and relaxing their mood can all help control the condition.

In addition, in severe cases, medications and courses of treatment can be used to inhibit the outflow of gastric acid, so those who are troubled by acid reflux should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

Irritable bowel syndrome interferes with daily life

If you often suffer from abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, but you do not suffer from gastroenteritis due to eating food by mistake, you may have suffered from this urbanIrritable bowel syndrome. Earlier research from the Faculty of Medicine of the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that one in six people in Hong Kong suffers from this disease, and most of them are women and people in their prime of life under 40 years old. The number is still on the rise. This is related to patients' sensitive intestinal nerves and increased life stress.

There are three types of irritable bowel syndrome: some patients have bowel movements that move too fast, causing diarrhea; some patients have bowel movements that move too slowly, causing constipation; but most patients have a mixed type of diarrhea and constipation that alternates between diarrhea and constipation. Patients will experience abdominal pain but cannot find other causes of discomfort. The discomfort is usually more obvious when you are nervous or under pressure.

Irritable bowel syndrome is not a fatal disease, but patients may experience abdominal pain, even diarrhea, or suffer from constipation without warning, which is very inconvenient for office workers. To improve the situation, you should improve your eating habits, such as increasing dietary fiber and reducing the consumption of difficult-to-digest foods.

If you find that you are particularly sensitive to certain foods, you should try to avoid eating them and maintain a relaxed mood to help reduce discomfort.

4 tips to help you improve your “digestive capacity”

Eat slower: Eat too fast and swallow the food before chewing it. Your stomach needs more energy to grind the food into liquid for digestion. If the burden is too heavy, problems may easily occur.
Chop more and cook more: Changing the shape of food can help digestion.
Eat less fatty and indigestible food.
Balanced diet: Eating too much of any food is not good. For example, broccoli is rich in nutrients and suitable for all ages, but eating too much may not be digested by the body.

Gastrointestinal problems are becoming increasingly common among urbanites. If you feel unwell, seek medical advice and undergo anOGDexamination as soon as possible for early treatment.

The above information is for reference only. Consult your doctor if you have any doubt.
The above information is for reference only. Consult your doctor if you have any doubt.

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