What causes acid reflux disease, its symptoms and treatments
Acid reflux is the common term for gastro esophageal reflux
disease or GERD, the condition of abnormal reflux that causes
mucosal damages. This disease can affect both adults and
children or infants, but gives high vulnerability to pregnant
women, smokers and people who doze off right after eating
without prior rest.
The symptoms of acid reflux are as follows: heartburn, which is
characterized by chest pain; inflammation in the mucosa;
difficulty in swallowing; cough and hoarseness. These symptoms
are felt by the infected person after eating a fatty meal or
drinking liquor, when bending, and worse when constantly
smoking.
Acid reflux is primarily caused by the malfunction of the
esophageal sphincter. In other cases, it can also be brought
about by the abnormal production of the gastric acids. If there
is insufficient supply of the stomach acid, the valve in the
stomach responsible for churning up foods to the intestine does
not open up. This irritates the esophagus and leads to
inflammation.
Some of the factors that can trigger acid reflux are hiatus
hernia, zollinger-elison syndrome, hypercalcemia, scleroderma
and systemic sclerosis.
According to paradoxical beliefs, drinking alcohol, tea and
coffee can lead to gastro esophageal reflux. But recent studies
show that although individuals already infected by this disease
can be aggravated by alcohol, tea and coffee, these elements do
not cause the disease. Compared to smoking which amplifies the
risks of getting the disease, alcohol, tea and coffee had the
least impact. But this doesn’t mean that GERD infected people
are free to take the beverages stated above. Doctors still
suggest avoiding drinking of alcohol in order to shun further
aggravation.
Smoking is the chief culprit that causes acid reflux disease.
Regular smokers for twenty years are 70% susceptible to acid
reflux disease compared to non-smokers. And symptoms of those
who already developed the GERD are worsened day by day due to
smoking.
The highlight of the research is that great amounts of salts are
found to be equivalent to regular smoking in terms of the risk
of developing GERD. It is not a common knowledge that table
salts can cause acid reflux disease but researchers found out in
their studies that people who are constantly using extra salt
are 70% at risk to have gastro esophageal reflux disease.
Gastroenterologists of New York University Medical Center
attested this fact.
Gastro esophageal reflux disease can be diagnosed even by the
infected person himself through the appearance of the symptoms.
In the occurrence of these symptoms, it is advised to undergo
the tests conducted by medical experts to clear doubts of having
the disease or to carry out possible treatments. To treat this
kind of disorder, there are varieties of ways possible. It can
be cured by prescribed drugs such as antacids, by natural way
such as change of diet system, elevation of the head when lying
down, or to the utmost is surgery. And of course, it will be
best to stop or avoid smoking and drinking alcohol especially to
people who are vulnerable to acid reflux disease.
Gastro esophageal reflux disease causes a lot of discomfort that
it can ruin even your lifestyle. To avoid its bad effects,
precautionary measures should be considered. The cliché quote
that prevention is better than cure applies always.
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