What Is Acid Reflux?

 Are you having a painful burning sensation in your chest or your upper abdomen? Do you feel like this pain sometimes radiate into your back? Does it almost feel like you can’t catch your breath? It is often the reason that thousands of people show up in emergency rooms every year with them, only to find out these symptoms are related to acid reflux even though these general symptoms may sound like a heart attack.

There are as many as 20 – 30 million Americans suffer from acid reflux or as it’s becoming known – gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, and this has been estimated by medical professionals.

There are a lot of us who have experienced it especially after that spicy Italian sausage and pepper sub or even that piece of dense chocolate torte. Some experience it while they are drinking iced tea. This means that it is easy to know what foods to avoid so we don’t have a problem if we are like those people with food related acid reflux. If we take an over the counter antacid, then we can obtain relief.

However, for some of us, acid reflux becomes a chronic condition that over time can cause damage to the esophagus. When the damage to the esophagus occurs this is when acid reflux can cause serious medical problems.

The stomach acids that back flow from up into the esophagus actually damage the lining of the esophagus and this is what happens with chronic acid reflux. With this back up of acid, ulcers can be formed along the esophagus and can cause what is called Barrett’s esophagus which is when the normal esophageal cells are replaced with abnormal cells. These abnormal cells have in fact been associated with cancer of the esophagus.

The question is what to do? First, you can try the easiest path. If you have occasional acid reflux you can try observing what foods bring on the acid reflux. For some medical professionals, they do not see any link between acid reflux and food at all. What they do believe is that acid reflux occurs no matter what type of food you eat. This has not been my personal experience. I have found that avoiding combinations of foods does prevent my acid reflux from occurring.

 Try keeping a diary of what you have eaten when your acid reflux acts up. By doing this, you will know what types of food you should avoid. Another suggestion is that you do not lie down right after any meal. You should also avoid bending over right after a meal.

Avoid wearing any tight fitting clothing. Do not smoke! Smoking can trigger acid reflux symptoms. If periodic acid reflux is what you tend to have then you can seek relief from over the counter antacids. For more severe and chronic acid reflux it is suggested that you seek advice from your medical professional. A prescription antacid is what you may need for relief.

Acid Reflux Relief Medications - Their Potential Dangers

Dangers do exist among the various forms of acid reflux relief. It can be dangerous to use any health-related measure to the extreme. This is no less true of using acid reflux relief products. In order to achieve proper biological health, you must balance the chemicals your body uses throughout your entire system.

It is true that acid reflux relief in the form of medication can reduce the amount of acid in your stomach, which is how acid reflux is controlled. This stomach acid is vital, however, because it is an essential component in your digestive process. This acid is what dissolves food into digestible elements that your body can absorb.

Unless you maintain a healthy level of acid in your stomach, your entire system can become susceptible to other significant health problems. In addition, reducing too much stomach acid will confuse your digestive system into forgetting how to function without these artificial acid reflux relief remedies.

In this vein, your physician, like most, will likely discourage you from overusing any form of pharmaceutical acid reflux relief. Overusing any medication is dangerous to your overall health since they alter your biochemical balance.

Antacid is a common acid reflux relief remedy as it reduces an overabundance of acid in your stomach. These acid neutralizers are designed to remove excess acid, offering you a means of controlling your acid reflux disease.

Unfortunately, imprecisely and routinely reducing the amount of stomach acid by using antacid medications creates a new problem. If the amount of acid in your stomach falls below the minimum your individual body needs, it can become harder for you to digest some foods or certain amounts of them. These acid reflux relief remedies can make it more difficult for your stomach to digest some nutritional components, specifically ion and vitamin B. This, of course, can lead to an imbalance in nutrition throughout your body.

Another problem with using antacids to fight off acid reflux is the impact these remedies have on the walls of your stomach. Antacids reduce the ability of your stomach walls to fight infection through bacteria. Antacids make your stomach walls weaker against these attacks and increase the likelihood your stomach will be more susceptible to infection.

The ideal condition for good digestion is to maintain the correct balance of stomach acid. Naturally maintained levels of stomach acid are more effective than medicinal antacids on your entire digestive system.

Acid Reflux vs. Non-Acid Reflux

Have you ever experienced a burning sensation in your chest, almost as if your heart is on fire? Have you ever felt a burning sensation in your throat followed by a foul taste in your mouth? If you have, then what you've experienced is acid reflux, commonly referred to as heartburn.

Acid reflux is a common condition that almost everyone experiences at least once during their lifetime. During digestion the stomach produces enzymes and acid to digest food. When the mixture of stomach acid and enzymes are refluxed into the oesophagus more frequently than they should, or for an extended period of time, acid reflux occurs. The most common symptom of acid reflux is a burning sensation behind the breast cavity.

A Number of Factors Can Contribute to Acid Reflux Including:

o Being overweight - excess pounds put pressure on your abdomen and can push your stomach up causing acid to reflux into the oesophagus
o Overeating - Eating too much food can slow digestion.
o Posture and tight clothing - Sitting hunched over while eating or wearing constricting clothing around your waist puts pressure on your stomach
o Foods - many types of food trigger heartburn including: caffeine, fired or fatty foods, salty food, chocolate, excessive alcohol, garlic, peppermint, onion
o Smoking - nicotine aggravates the stomach and oesophagus and inhibits saliva production.
o NSAIDs - Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen can aggravate the stomach.

Antacids and acid-suppressing medicines can help relieve and prevent acid reflux from occurring. There are many types of these drugs available for over-the-counter (OTC) purchase such as the antacids Rolaids and Pepto-Bismol, and acid-suppressers such as Pepcid AC.

Nevertheless, in rare cases, despite the medications an acid reflux sufferer is given to treat their symptoms, they continue to experience symptoms. Many medical researchers are beginning to believe that the ineffectiveness of the treatment may be due to the fact that those who are being treated for acid reflux are actually suffering from agents within the oesphagus that are not related to stomach acid. This condition is known as non-acid reflux.

What is non-acid reflux?
Non-acid reflux is when other potentially harmful agents (not stomach acid) are refluxed into the oesophagus such as bile. It has been discovered that non-acid reflux is defined as a reflux that has a greater pH level than 4. Unfortunately, not much is known about non-acid reflux, its symptoms, or the affects it has on the oesophagus.

It has been found that most cases of non-acid reflux occur after mealtime when the contents of the stomach are being neutralized, and the condition is more present in children than adults.

Medical researchers are still trying to figure out the exact cause of non-acid reflux. Currently new technology is being used that can accurately determine the presence of acid or non-acid in the oesophagus by measuring the Ph level.

If you believe you are suffering from acid reflux, but you find that OTC antacids are not relieving your symptoms, it is a good idea to seek the advice of your doctor. It is important for you to know what type of reflux you are experiencing so you can properly treat your condition. The reason is if you are suffering from non-acid reflux, taking an antacid will not cure your symptoms because this drug has been designed to neutralize acid - acid which would not be present in the case of non-acid reflux.

In addition, if you suffer from frequent episodes of acid reflux, you should still consult your doctor. It may be possible that your common condition has developed into a chronic disease known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).