Jakarta, IO – Fasting is included in the fifth pillar of Islam. When fasting, a person abstains from eating or drinking for about 13-14 hours. The argument for fasting in the Al-Quran is written in Surah Al-A’raf verse 31: “Eat and drink, but don’t overdo it” and AlBaqarah 183: “You who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for people before you, that you may be pious.”
All patients with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, commonly abbreviated as GERD, may fast, although it is not easy to do so. What needs to be done is the arrangement of food consumed: it should not be arbitrary. Even so, all advice from doctors must be taken into account.
“Many choose to keep fasting even though they are sick with GERD. What happens when we fast? Prolonged intermittent fasting generally signifies eating only two times, when breaking fast and at dawn, reducing calorie intake, changing sleep patterns, positive effect on chronic diseases; we should in fact be healthier. There were significant changes in gastric pH before fasting, 10 days of fasting, 24 days of fasting, and after one month of fasting,” said Prof. Dr. dr. Ari Fahrial Syam, Sp.PD-KGEH, MMB, in a webinar with the theme “Ramadan Fasting for GERD Patients” which was held Friday (31/3/2023).
According to Montreal 2006, the latest definition of GERD is disturbing symptoms and or complications resulting from reflux of gastric contents. The main symptoms are a burning feeling, more commonly known as heartburn, regurgitation, such as a bitter taste in the mouth, and something that has reversed direction from the esophagus and is felt in the oral cavity. The risk factors that influence are excessive body weight or obesity, the habit of sleeping on your back, smoking, coffee, alcohol consumption and stress.
“Diagnosis of GERD from the GERQ application – the patient answers six questions: what about experiencing heart burn, regurgitation, upper middle abdominal pain, sleep disturbance due to heartburn, or taking OTC ulcer medication? If the score of 8-18, most likely GERD. Then, what is the effect of fasting on GERD patients? During the Ramadan period GERD-Q scored 0, while the non-Ramadan period scored 4. GERD complaints are milder in subjects who fasting during Ramadan month than in nonRamadan months,” said the internal medicine consultant gastroenterohepology and Dean of Faculty of Medicine University of Indonesia (FKUI).
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GERD can impair a person’s quality of life because of symptoms such as heartburn, regurgitation, chest pain, and epigastric pain. Other causes that can occur include sleep disturbances, decreased productivity, and reduced social activity. To avoid feeling excessive discomfort, GERD patients are advised to take stomach acid suppressants. (est)