heart burn
Stomach Hernia Symptoms, Signs
Stomach hernia is also known as a hiatal hernia or a hiatus hernia. It is a bulge which occurs due to the protrusion of a portion of the stomach into the diaphragm in the esophagus. The bulge will not be visible though but there are various symptoms which help to determine its presence. If the stomach hernia is small enough, the patient will have no symptoms at all. But if the hernia is large enough to disrupt the normal functioning of the body, then the patient will show certain symptoms.
The most common symptoms of a stomach hernia are nausea, belching, heart burn, and chest pain. The stomach hernia causes the stomach acids to flow back into the esophagus, resulting in nauseous feelings. The patient might not experience any vomiting but it will surely affect his appetite. The patient experiences frequent gas and bloating feelings along with burping and belching. The patient will notice the worsening of the gas and bloating feelings when he bends forward or lies down. A pregnant patient will find it more problematic in her case. The patient of a stomach hernia will experience heart burns frequently because the hernia causes an opening allowing the stomach acids to flow back into the esophagus resulting in burning sensations or heart burns. Moreover, the patient will have a bitter or a sour taste on the tongue due to this acid reflux. Heart burn will worsen when the patient bends forward or lies down. The stomach hernia patient will also experience pressure on the chest. It is also due to the flowing back of stomach acids into the esophagus. The patient might feel that the pressure is actually some pain and might associate it with a heart attack. Though pain in the chest is more common in stomach hernia but the patient may experience pain in other parts of the abdomen and esophagus as well.
Signs and Symptoms of Hernia
A hernia is a medical condition when a part of the organ bulges out into the abdominal walls that have weakened. The situation is experienced when the body is put under stress or faces any strain due to heavy lifting, obesity etc. Hernia usually occurs in the abdominal region and the groin. A small-sized hernia usually shows no symptoms but a large-sized one will be painful and show various symptoms.
The common signs or symptoms of hernia are the abdominal disturbances like upset stomach etc. In case of a hiatal hernia, also known as hiatus hernia, there are usually no obvious symptoms. The patient has heart burns very frequently and the situation worsens on lying down or soon after eating. Moreover, a chest pain is also accompanied with the heart burn. The patient may also have nausea. A bitter or sour taste in the mouth is also experienced. In case of an umbilical hernia, which is mostly common in children but also occur in some adults too, the patient will have a bulge around or over the navel. This bulge will be most obvious when the child is straining the body due to crying, coughing or passing bowel movements. For a femoral hernia, the patient will have a bulge on the upper part of the thighs. On bending forward, pain will be encountered. If this hernia is stuck, pain with nausea is experienced.
Incisional hernia will show a bulge around the area where there was a scar due to a previous surgery. The affected part will feel tender on touching when the patient strains the body due to excessive coughing or heavy lifting etc.
Other abdominal hernias mainly the inguinal or groin hernia will show a protrusion around the groin. The patient will have pain along with nausea. Moreover, constipation is also experienced.
