Brijen Shah

1 month ago | self.com | Brijen Shah |Amy Norton

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission. Demi Ricario considers herself both a foodie and a globe-trotter. The “travel bug,” she tells SELF, hit her when she was 15 and took a solo trip to the United States from her native Philippines. It was an experience of a lifetime—she was hooked.

Jul 25, 2024 | self.com | Brijen Shah |Erica Sloan

If you haven’t pooped in days, you might find yourself praying for any sort of bowel movement—well, except diarrhea. And if you’re dealing with a seemingly unending flow of shitty lava, you’re probably wishing you could just stop pooping. So it’s easy to see why getting stuck in a cycle of constipation and diarrhea is a special kind of hell.

Jul 15, 2024 | bottomlineinc.com | Brijen Shah |Robert Michelin

It goes by many names—heartburn, acid reflux, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and agita—but whatever you call it, it’s just no fun to have it. Bottom Line asked gastro specialist Brijen J. Shah, MD, what causes heartburn and, more importantly, how to get rid of it. Heartburn is the result of stomach acid rising up into the esophagus and mouth.

Jul 9, 2024 | self.com | Brijen Shah |Theresa Tamkins

Many things in life are a total pain in the butt, but none of them quite as literally as hemorrhoids. If you’ve heard of them but aren’t exactly sure what they are (lucky you!), they are basically enlarged blood vessels that form in your rectal area, sort of like varicose veins. In addition to itching, hemorrhoids cause symptoms like swollen lumps in and around your anus and bright red blood—sometimes a lot of it—when you take a poop. Sounds fun, right? They can be even worse in reality.

Jun 10, 2024 | self.com | Brijen Shah |Theresa Tamkins

If you’ve never had a hemorrhoid, consider yourself lucky—and don’t be surprised if your luck runs out at some point. About 40% of adults get these swollen blood vessels in or around their rectum, and while they don’t always cause symptoms, when they do, it can be very, very unpleasant. When Shivana Pemberton, 31, of Auckland, New Zealand, has a flare-up it’s so painful that she can barely walk, particularly after having a bowel movement.