Dyspepsia syndrome is a collection of symptoms that are described as abdominal discomfort, such as fullness of the stomach, bloating, abdominal pain, and heartburn. However, it should be emphasized that dyspepsia is not a disease, but a symptom of a digestive disease or disorder.
A syndrome is a collection of symptoms that occur together and are usually a sign of a certain disease. In the medical world, dyspepsia syndrome is defined as a collection of uncomfortable symptoms in the upper abdomen. By ordinary people, this condition is better known as heartburn.
People who experience dyspepsia syndrome will usually feel the emergence of the symptoms of the syndrome within a few moments after eating. Symptoms felt from dyspepsia syndrome usually include abdominal pain or bloating, heartburn, nausea, vomiting, and lots of burping.
In addition to these symptoms, dyspepsia syndrome can also cause various other complaints, namely:
- Quickly feel full when eating
- Can't finish food in large portions
- Stomach feels full after eating a normal portion
- Painful to hot feeling like burning in the stomach and esophagus
- Fart often
Symptoms and Causes of Dyspepsia Syndrome
Dyspepsia syndrome can occur when the amount of stomach acid increases and causes irritation of the stomach wall. This irritation causes the emergence of various complaints in the stomach that can be felt up to the esophagus.
Complaints of pain in the stomach is what often makes dyspepsia also known as complaints of stomach pain or heartburn.
Dyspepsia syndrome can occur due to lifestyle influences, such as:
- Poor eating patterns, for example eating irregularly or eating a lot of fatty and spicy foods
- Too often consumption of caffeinated drinks
- Alcohol consumption habits
- Smoking habit
- Overweight or obesity
Apart from the influence of lifestyle, dyspepsia syndrome can also be caused by certain diseases or medical conditions, including:
- Acid reflux disease (GERD)
- Pancreatic disorders, including acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis
- Disorders in the bile ducts, such as cholecystitis
- Gastric disorders, such as gastritis or gastric inflammation, bacterial infections pylori in the stomach, peptic ulcers, and gastric cancer
- Side effects of drugs, such as antibiotics, corticosteroids, and NSAIDs, such as aspirin or ibuprofen
How to Treat Dyspepsia Syndrome
Treatment for dyspeptic syndrome needs to be tailored to the cause and severity of the symptoms. Therefore, if you experience symptoms that suggest dyspepsia syndrome, you should consult a doctor.
After determining the diagnosis and knowing the cause of the complaints you are experiencing, the doctor will determine the appropriate treatment steps. As a first step, the doctor will advise you to make lifestyle changes, such as:
1. Live a healthy diet
Your doctor may advise you to eat little by little and chew food slowly until it's a smooth texture before swallowing it.
In addition, your doctor will usually advise you to avoid fatty and spicy foods, as well as soft drinks, caffeine (coffee, tea, and energy drinks), alcoholic beverages, and quit smoking.
2. Maintain ideal body weight
Being overweight or obese is one of the factors that can increase your risk of developing dyspepsia syndrome. Therefore, your doctor may advise you to lose weight and maintain your ideal weight, if you are overweight.
3. Exercise regularly
Regular exercise can help you maintain your weight, maximize your body's metabolism, and help your digestive organs work. However, do not exercise immediately after eating.
4. Reduce stress
Excessive stress can cause an increase in stomach acid production, thus triggering the emergence of symptoms of dyspepsia syndrome. Therefore, you need to manage stress well, for example by doing relaxation methods or hobbies and activities that you like.
5. Avoid the habit of lying down after eating
The stomach takes several hours to digest food and empty it. When you lie down after eating, the stomach will be compressed and this can cause symptoms of dyspepsia syndrome to recur or reappear.
Therefore, wait at least 2-3 hours after eating before lying down or going to bed.
6. Using drugs
In addition to changing lifestyles, doctors will also provide drugs to treat dyspepsia syndrome.
Antacid drugs are drugs that are often used to treat dyspepsia syndrome complaints. Some antacid drugs are sold over the counter and you can get without a doctor's prescription.
Some classes of drugs that may be prescribed by a doctor are H2 antagonist drugs to reduce stomach acid production and proton pump inhibitor drugs to reduce stomach acid levels and relieve symptoms.
The doctor will also give you prokinetic drugs to relieve symptoms and antibiotics if your dyspepsia syndrome is caused by a bacterial infection.
With proper treatment, dyspepsia syndrome can usually be alleviated. However, you need to be alert if the dyspepsia syndrome appears accompanied by several other complaints, such as vomiting blood, difficulty swallowing, black stools, and drastic weight loss for no apparent reason.
These symptoms may indicate that the dyspepsia syndrome you are experiencing is caused by a serious medical condition and needs to be treated by a doctor.