Stomach Pain and Heartburn

These are very common symptoms, usually trivial and mild, and are most often linked with stress, and sometimes with taking medicines (aspirin, anti-inflammatory drugs), as well as with alcohol.

Care must be taken to avoid prolonged self-medication without medical advice before a diagnosis has been made.

Some essential dietary advice

• Some foods are forbidden: chips and fried food, food cooked in oil or butter, offal and game, oily fish (anchovies, eel, mackerel, sardines, salmon, tuna), pickles, cauliflower, overripe cheese, jams, creams, confectionery, pastries (particularly commercially made ones), and strong alcoholic drinks
• Other foods to avoid are: crustaceans, eggs (fried, omelettes, scrambled). mushrooms, pulses, canned foods (meat), fresh soft bread
• Some other foods are allowed or recommended: cooked or dried vegetables, cereals and starchy foods, boiled eggs, lean meat and fish (bass, hake, sea bream, pollack, dab, sole), butter and unrefined oil, milk and all fresh, non-fermented cheeses, fresh fruit, fruit tarts.

Helicobacter Pylori

Named after its helical shape, Helicobacter was discovered by Australian researchers in 1983. They found the organism living in the human stomach at a time when this environment, which contains concentrated hydrochloric acid, was believed unfavourable to bacterial growth. Most often the stomach becomes infected during the first five years of life, though the method of transmission (possibly saliva, stools, or gastric fluid) is unknown. Once established in the stomach, Helicobacter resists the hostile environment and the infection becomes chronic. The infection is universally distributed, without distinction between sex and race, but shows a preference for developing countries. A large proportion of people in the West carry the bacteria but, mysteriously, few people end up suffering from an ulcer. Long seen as the archetypal psychosomatic illness, gastric ulcer is in fact an ordinary infection that can generally be cured by antibiotics and antisecretory treatment. Vaccination is planned for the future.

Oligotherapy

Magnesium

Trace elements are normally supplied by the diet, which should be varied and of good quality, When there is a deficiency, which is frequent in the case of magnesium, it can be taken as a supplement.

Dietary sources of magnesium

Present in almost all foods, but unfortunately particularly in those that are rich in calories Magnesium is found mainly in citrus fruits, bananas, whole cereals (oat flakes, bran,,), cocoa and chocolate, shellfish (winkles, shrimps, oysters, clams...) and oily fish, snails, figs, hard cheeses, dried fruit and nuts (almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, walnuts), vegetables (spinach, dried haricot and green beans, split peas, soya...), wholemeal bread.

• Magnesium preparations: there are many different brands and presentations, such as Organic Minerals (Colloidals) which contains 70+ trace minerals:
  - Available in 946ml bottles
  - Take 1-3 caps just before breakfast and/or evening meal
  - Children 1 teaspoon daily for each 20lbs of body weight

Or Maximol (Ionized colloidals):

- Available in 500ml bottles
- Take 1/2 capful once or twice daily on an empty stomach

Chocolate

Foods that contain plenty of magnesium are also rich in calories, but it should be borne in mind that a 100g bar of chocolate, which is a fair amount, provides fewer calories than a medium sized portion of chips,

• If necessary, you can take higher doses of magnesium by using Magasorb@ (Lamberts) containing 150mg of magnesium (as citrate):
  - Available in containers of 60 and 180 tablets
  - one to three tablets daily

Homeopathy

Arsenicum album, Nux vomica

Four tablets of each of these products at 5c, to be sucked like sweets, alternately, three to four times a day between meals, The intervals should be increased when there is improvement.

Arsenicum album

- Chemical origin: arsenic oxide
- Homeopathic remedy for burning pains
- Specific sign: eased by warmth
Arsenic, once used to treat syphilis, is a deadly poison, When ingested it is most often fatal. causing agonizing pain throughout the digestive tract, with vomiting and convulsions.

Nux vomica

- Vegetable origin: the fruit of the Strychnos nux-vomica tree
- Homeopathic remedy for digestive disorders due to overindulgence
- Special psychological profile: irritable, bad tempered, cannot bear contradiction Strychnine, which is highly toxic to the nervous system, is extracted from nux vomica seeds.

• You can use Gastricumeel@ (Heel) which contains Carbo vegetabilis D6, Nux vomica D4, Argentum nitricum D6, Acid arsenicosum D6, pulsatilla D4 and Antimonium crudum D6:
  - Available in packs containing 50 and 250 tablets
  - In general, 1 tablet to be dissolved under the tongue 3 times daily. In acute disorders initially 1 tablet every 15 mins

You can also add a constitutional remedy decided upon after consultation with your homeopath, in this case it will often be Argentum nitricum, Lycopodium, Sulfur.

Herbal treatment

Angelica, green anise, fennel for use in treating digestive pain.

Hawthorn, lime, valerian antispasmodic.

Possible Prescription: Ask your herbalist to prepare a 30ml bottle of a mother tincture of a mixture of angelica and fennel. Twenty-five drops to be taken in a little water to relieve pain.

Anise

Anise, native to the Mediterranean basin. has considerable digestive properties. It reduces colic, relieves nausea, assists digestion and is effective against flatulence. For these reasons it is used both in the kitchen and in medicine.

Fennel

Fennel seed is used to treat abdominal pains and stomachache, and to relieve flatulence.

It is also mildly diuretic and is therefore sometimes used in slimming regimes.

Lime

To ancient civilizations, the lime tree was sacred because of its extraordinary longevity. Its leaves are mainly used in the evening because of their sedative properties, but they are also useful in dealing with digestive disorders and spasm.

You can use Weleda@ digestive tea:
- Composition: Yarrow, anise, caraway, fennel. and camomile
- One infusion to be taken after meals

Acupuncture

Acupuncture finds a place here because of its sedative action and its undisputed effectiveness against pain. Though it may be difficult to organize acupuncture when the slightest pain appears, it can and should be a part of the fundamental treatment.

Treatment Schedule: the programme of sessions is variable according to the frequency and intensity of the episodes of pain. The sessions can be weekly, monthly or three-monthly.