New Year’s Eve dinner is an ordeal for the body. The greatest stress falls on the pancreas and liver. Nuria Dianova, gastroenterologist, hepatologist, chief nutritionist of the Central Directorate of Healthcare of the Russian Railways, told what to do in case of abdominal pain after a feast and what is better not to finish off the festive table.
December 30 2018
Do not use a heating pad for abdominal pain. If there is inflammation, the condition will worsen.
Problem: heartburn, may be accompanied by a burning sensation behind the breastbone, sometimes in the throat.
What to do: the symptom is possible with gastritis, ulcers. A drug in the form of a gel will help, for example, maalox, phosphalugel, rennie – they form a barrier that prevents gastric acid from entering the esophagus. You need to take the medicine not only after an attack, but also at night – hydrochloric acid will continue to destroy the mucous membrane.
Problem: discomfort, feeling of heaviness, nausea. This is usually a manifestation of gastritis.
What to do: bed rest, fasting for a day will help. The next day, it is permissible to add soups, unsweetened jelly to the diet. In a day, the menu should be expanded with cereals, vegetable purees, steam cutlets. To improve the condition, doctors recommend enzyme preparations, they improve digestion. Antacids relieve pain. They neutralize the action of hydrochloric acid.
Problem: severe pain in the stomach, vomiting. Perhaps we are talking about an exacerbation of an ulcer.
What to do: if the pain is very acute, call an ambulance. There may be perforation of the ulcer – a violation of the integrity of the wall of the stomach or duodenum. Always call your doctor for severe stomach pain, especially if it occurs for the first time.
Problem: burning in and above the navel, pain of a girdle nature, most often in the upper abdomen, weakness. The signs are pancreatitis.
What to do: need an ambulance. No food or drink is allowed until arrival. To relieve pain, apply a heating pad with cold water. Do not refuse hospitalization, even if it seems that it has become easier. If pancreatitis is chronic, take a course of enzyme preparations before the holidays and continue in the midst of them.
Problem: pain in the right hypochondrium can radiate to the right shoulder or back, accompanied by bitterness in the mouth, nausea, vomiting, fever. Most likely, it is biliary colic.
What to do: stick to a strict diet for two days, it is better to starve. Drink still mineral water. The pain will relieve the ice pack. If it is sharp, and the skin is yellow, or you have stones in the gallbladder, call a doctor.
Problem: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, fever, headache. These are signs of food poisoning.
What to do: flush the stomach by drinking a liter of warm water and induce vomiting. You will need 8-10 liters in total. Take a gel-like sorbent – it coats the walls of the stomach and quickly absorbs toxins. To restore the water-salt balance, drink mineral water or add a little salt and baking soda to plain water. In case of severe intoxication, call an ambulance.
Don’t go hungry in anticipation of the holiday. Snack a few hours in advance to avoid overeating.
Give up the idea of trying everything. Problems with the gastrointestinal tract arise not so much because of the amount of food, but because of its variety.
Choose one type of protein – eat only fish or poultry, meat. Add fiber-rich foods. The abundance of smoked meats causes exacerbation of hypertension, headache, due to excess salt – fluid retention in the form of edema. Migraine headaches can also provoke an excess of hard aged cheeses, red wine.
Eat citrus fruits, the acids they contain, especially succinic and citric, bind aldehydes and reduce the harmful effects of alcohol.
Do not eat salads in the morning, the shelf life after dressing with mayonnaise is no more than 12 hours if stored in the refrigerator
Do not eat or drink very cold after hot and vice versa, this provokes colic.
Drink plenty of table mineral water. When pouring, wait until the gases come out. Place orange juice on the table or make natural tarragon. Pour a bunch of herbs with a liter of hot water, add a little sugar (preferably stevia leaves) and lemon. Add 2 liters of table mineral water before serving. No tarragon – use mint.
Move more. The stomach takes time to digest food. The more protein, the longer the process takes – up to five hours.
The ideal dish in the morning is a low-fat jellied meat without horseradish. Amino acids help the body recover from alcohol intake. Better yet, arrange a fasting day.