Acid Reflux Heartburn Symptoms May be a Sign of a More Serious Condition

You just lay down and here it comes, acid reflux is flowing up your esophagus to your throat. It burns and you start to choke and cough. You get up and resign yourself to another night of sleeping in the recliner. Your old nemesis acid reflux heartburn has come again to make your life miserable. You should have invested in the companies that make antacids years ago, because you have spent so much money on their products. You assume it is just ordinary heartburn, but is your diagnosis correct? You have not been to the doctor in a couple of years. Why pay for him to tell you to take Pepsid AC or Maalox, right? Problem is your symptoms may be part of a more serious problem.

Take a couple of minutes and complete this survey:

1. Has your acid reflux heartburn continued to bother you despite changes in what you eat and drink?

2. Do you wake up in the morning with sore throat more than 3 days a week?

3. Do you have to sleep in a recliner or in an upright position to keep acid reflux from flowing up your esophagus?

4. Does your heartburn wake you up several times each night?

5. Do you take over the counter antacids each night before going to bed? If you have answered yes to 3 or more of these questions you may be suffering from more than simple heartburn. You may have GERD or gastroesophageal reflux disease and in some severe cases, something called Erosive GERD.

Acid is eating away at the lining of your esophagus and doing permanent damage. Ignoring this problem will not make it go away and everyday that goes by means more damage to your esophagus. Now what do you do? Well depending on how you did on our survey you need to call your doctor and ask for a referral to a specialist that treats severe cases of acid reflux disease. These specialists are up on the latest treatment options. The next thing to do is begin researching your condition on the Internet. There are thousands of websites that provide information on acid reflux heartburn diseases. Do not put it off or the damage may be permanent.

Why live in misery? It is up to you; take control of your symptoms and disease now.

Acid Reflux Heartburn Cures, http://www.heartburnscures.com

What Really Helps? Acid Reflux Remedies At A Glance.

Stomach problems can make a person totally sad. Conditions like acid reflux disease can make your days long and nights even longer. There are many instruction medications available today for such conditions but many people prefer to avoid taking many medicines. Natural acid reflux remedies provide welcomed relief for many sufferers.

Basically, acid reflux disease is a result of inflammation in the esophagus. The irritation is caused by liquid from the stomach working its way backwards into the throat. Many people identify the symptoms of this stomach problem known as heartburn. This painful symptom has many of us running to stores looking for acid reflux remedies.

I was not interested in finding acid reflux remedies myself because I had never experienced stomachache until last week. My first bout with the symptom of the stomach problem came as a kind of frightening shock. I thought that something was stuck in my chest and I couldn?t work it out. The feeling was that I would associate with chocking deep in the chest.

After that short experience with stomachache I decided that I had better check out some natural acid reflux remedies. I wasn?t really looking for myself. My husband complains of stomachache every day. I had never really understood what he was feeling until I experienced stomachache.

I can?t get my husband to take an aspirin let alone instruction medication. Mediations that were used in the past as acid reflux remedies had bad consequences. The medicine Propulsid that was used for the stomach illness was taken off of the market after many people died from the medication.

My husband isn?t really excited about taking medication of any type and the track record for medications for this stomach problem is unwelcoming. We decided that natural acid reflux remedies would be the best approaches to his pain. If there is a natural way to take care of a problem that is the way to go.

We found that drinking a lot of clean water each day helps to raise the symptoms associated with the stomach problem. Water helps to balance the pH in your stomach which neutralizes the acids. This is the easiest of the acid reflux remedies to follow.

Other acid reflux remedies include fresh garlic. This came as a huge surprise to both of us. You would think that garlic would disturb the natural balance in your stomach but it does the opposite. Just adding water and garlic to my husband?s diet has proved to be useful acid reflux remedies.

John Wellington provides readers with up-to-date commentaries, articles, and reviews for health, wellness as well as other related information.

Acid Reflux - Learning the Basics

Having trouble with heartburn? Well, research shows that you are not the only one suffering from this condition. In fact, studies indicate that approximately 1 in every 10 adults in the United States or an alarming 10% suffer every day from this condition and the numbers are expected to rise in the near future!

The occurrence of heartburns usually denotes that the person has a condition commonly known as acid reflux. Acid reflux, medically termed as "reflux esophagitis" or "gastroesophageal reflux disease" (GERD), is a condition whereby the contents of the stomach are regurgitated or are returned back into the esophagus.

What causes acid reflux?

To understand this disease, we must be aware of how our digestive system works. As food enters the stomach, it is acted upon by the stomach acids and various digestive enzymes whose primary function is to break down the food so that the body can use it. The partially digested food, which is now acidic in nature, is then transported to the small intestine for further digestion.

However, this is not the case in patients afflicted with acid reflux. Those with this condition have a weakened lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which makes the regurgitation or passing of acidic gastric juices back from the stomach and up into the esophagus possible. In some cases, the acidic gastric contents even rise up as high as the mouth of an affected individual.

Among the factors which may contribute to the development of acid reflux are obesity, pregnancy, delayed emptying of stomach contents and the excessive intake of fatty foods. Smoking and drinking increase the body's caffeine and alcohol load which are also known causes of acid reflux.

Acid reflux is not only painful and annoying. Frequent regurgitation irritates the lining of the esophagus, which may lead to ulceration and scarring. At worst, it may even lead to the development of esophageal cancer.

What are the other symptoms associated with acid reflux?

Aside from frequent and painful heartburn, a person suffering from acid reflux may have the following symptoms:

. Regurgitation or the rising up of partially digested food in the stomach back into the esophagus or at times, even as high as the mouth
. Chest pains
. Difficulty in swallowing
. Voice becomes hoarse
. Corrosion of the dental cavities
. Asthma
. Persistent coughing while lying down
. Increased production of saliva
. Difficulty in sleeping after eating

How is acid reflux treated?

The symptoms associated with acid reflux greatly interfere with the performance of daily activities. The majority of the symptoms of this ailment bring such discomfort that the quality of life of a person with this condition is greatly affected.

The condition can last for several months. It may even last longer in cases where the condition is not treated early or not addressed properly.

In our modern society, acid reflux is usually treated by controlling the acidity of the stomach. As such, over the counter antacids such as magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, calcium carbonate and aluminum-magnesium hydroxide are widely being used. Likewise, histamine H2 antagonists (cimetidine, ranitidine) and proton pump inhibitors (omeprazole) are also being prescribed. Some, however, swear by the effectiveness of several herbs such as licorice and aloe vera in treating this disease.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Acid Reflux