Acid Reflux Facts
Acid Reflux Facts – Help Beat Heartburn!
Arm yourself with acid reflux facts to help you overcome this problem. Once you know how acid reflux is caused, you can plan your diet to help avoid it.
• Acid reflux is also referred to as gastro-esophageal reflux disease, or GERD. This condition causes some of the contents of your stomach to back up into the esophagus. This can damage the tender lining of the esophagus.
• Acid reflux is generally a chronic and life-long condition. If your treatment is discontinued after the lining of the esophagus has healed, it will usually flare up again in a few months.
• The body has ways that it can protect itself from the effects of acid reflux. Facts conclude that refluxes normally occur in the daytime, when you are sitting upright while you eat. You swallow, and this takes the refluxed liquid back into the stomach, and the saliva also helps to counteract the acid from the stomach.
• Acid reflux symptoms are primarily regurgitation, heartburn and nausea. Regurgitation refers to the refluxed liquid making it all the way into the mouth. Heartburn is generally a burning pain in the chest. It may even start in the abdomen, or extend all the way to the throat. Nausea is not common with acid reflux, but it does occasionally happen.
• Some complications of acid reflux, facts say, are ulcers in the esophagus, strictures or scars in the esophagus, and cough and asthma. Other complications include inflammation of the larynx and throat, infection or inflammation in the lungs, and fluid in the middle ears or sinuses.
• Doctors use acid reflux facts that are presented upon examination to determine if acid reflux is truly your problem. Heartburn is probably the most common symptom. It is generally under the sternum, and feels worse if you lie down.
• Your health care providers may use different ways to diagnose your acid reflux. They may do an endoscopy, where a tube is passed down your throat, to view the esophagus. They may also do biopsies or x-rays, and sometimes an examination of the larynx and throat.
• To treat acid reflux, facts point to several alternatives. One is a simply lifestyle change, where you change the types of food you eat, or when you eat them, to avoid heartburn. Certain foods will exacerbate acid reflux, and you are advised to avoid peppermint, caffeinated drinks, chocolate and alcohol.
• Even though there are many different treatment prospects for acid reflux, antacids are still quite often used in treating it. There are many other methods of treatment, including histamine antagonists, which neutralize acid, and proton pump inhibitors, like Prilosec (tm), which blocks the secretion of acid into the stomach.
• After you and your physician develop a treatment plan, you can still find more acid reflux facts on line, to help you maintain your esophageal health and eliminate acid reflux from your life.