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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Is The Cause And Treatment For Hiatal Hernia?

Hi, I am a 30 year old female desperate for help. I went to an urgent care physility about 4 days ago for svere cramping in my upper abdomen and great pressure and pain in my sternum area( I ve had this for 5 days before I went) I also had burping and belching that didn t relieve any pressure also gas-x and tums hasn t helped. I ve been having a sore throat also for awhile and shallow breathing and sore upper back. I had almost no appetite and would be in even more pain if I attempted to eat anything. Well tests were done like EKG to make sure it wasn t my heart and a chest X-ray all were negative so they said its probably GERD. So I was prescribed Zantac but I m hesitant to take it as I wanna get to the root of the problem instead of just easing the symptoms. So I did some research and suspect I may have a hiatal hernia causing this pain and discomfort. I ve been doing some manual exercises to try to encourage my stomach to go down from my diaphragm. So far it has helped with the pressure just underneath my breastbone but the pain in my upper ab is still there along with the other symptoms. I m running outta hope as I have a 3 year old to care for all day and she doesn t understand why mommy doesn t play with her as I use to:( I thought I should mention I was on very strong antibiotics for a sinus infection first amoxicillin then levoflaxcin for a total of 20 days. After 2 weeks of being off these that s when the first bad pains appeared. So my question is is this related to my problem? And does it seem to be a hiatal hernia, and if so how can I get myself back to health again? Thank u much appreciate your time
Fri, 17 Apr 2015
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
hi
CAUSE
Most of the time, the cause is not known. A person may be born with a larger hiatal opening. Increased pressure in the abdomen such as from pregnancy, obesity, coughing, or straining during bowel movements may also play a role.
Most people do not experience any symptoms of their hiatal hernia so no treatment is necessary. However, the paraesophaeal hernia (when part of the stomach squeezes through the hiatus) can sometimes cause the stomach to be strangled, so surgery is sometimes recommended. Other symptoms that may occur along with the hernia such as chest pain should be properly evaluated. Symptoms of GERD, such as heartburn, should be treated.
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What Is The Cause And Treatment For Hiatal Hernia?

hi CAUSE Most of the time, the cause is not known. A person may be born with a larger hiatal opening. Increased pressure in the abdomen such as from pregnancy, obesity, coughing, or straining during bowel movements may also play a role. Most people do not experience any symptoms of their hiatal hernia so no treatment is necessary. However, the paraesophaeal hernia (when part of the stomach squeezes through the hiatus) can sometimes cause the stomach to be strangled, so surgery is sometimes recommended. Other symptoms that may occur along with the hernia such as chest pain should be properly evaluated. Symptoms of GERD, such as heartburn, should be treated. thank you.