Heartburn - The Early Sign of Acid Reflux

The one universal sign of acid reflux that even a five-year-old recognizes is the burning sensation felt in the throat and chest after consuming oily or spicy food. A mere cheeseburger can cause this extreme, but universal sign of acid reflux.

That burning sensation so commonly experienced by diners is only one of the calling cards of acid reflux. Other symptoms sufferers may experience include such things as a consistent sore throat, bad breath or a bitter taste in the mouth. In spite of good mouth hygiene, they may exhibit yellow teeth. They may have acid regurgitation or a dry cough. Such symptoms are perhaps just as serious and uncomfortable as the persistent burning sensation that follows eating foods that trigger heartburn or regurgitation.

Heartburn is a common sign of acid reflux that is also experienced by heart or chest pain sufferers. Yet chest pain, the most significant sign of acid reflux, is the least understood indicator of this disease.

It is important that you learn to tell the difference between heartburn and heart-related chest pains. Many sufferers who experience chest pain rush to the hospital fearing they are having a heart attack. Fortunately, they often learn that is not the case. Yet, you should not take chest pain lightly. If your chest hurts, seek medical help right away, regardless of how many false alarms you have had in the past. Chest pain can indicate a life-threatening heart attack.

The name heartburn indicates the general area of the body where the pain is located. Heartburn can feel as though the pain is literally coming from your heart. The burn describes the feeling that, although the pain is centered in the chest, there are pains radiating or burning away from the center point.

The reason for this sign of acid reflux known as heartburn among acid reflux sufferers is that the acidity causing the heartburn occurs in the digestive tract that runs near the heart. Heart-related chest pain will increase with simple physical exertion, unrelated to eating. If you feel that your heart is about to burst, you are experiencing actual heart-related pain and are possibly having a heart attack. If that is the case, seek medical attention immediately. However, the heartburn associated with acid reflux increases and decreases primarily when you eat certain foods. For instance, oily foods will make a dramatic increase in heartburn for most sufferers.

Acid Reflux - What Is It?

Acid reflux or Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a bothersome and usually painful problem. Acid reflux is caused by acid and other materials that are in the stomach, which get backed up in the esophagus, the tube that goes from the stomach to the throat. The esophagus is made up of many muscles.

Damage to the esophagus from acid reflux is very common. This damage is due to the items from the stomach residing in the lower esophagus for a long amount of time. You may experience heartburn and nausea when this occurs. If the materials rise up higher into the esophagus, you could get them into your mouth. Your throat will burn from the acid and you may find small food pieces in your mouth that have not been digested.

Causes of Acid Reflux

The esophagus has a tight piece of muscle like a rim, called the esophageal sphincter. When you eat food, the esophageal sphincter should be strong enough to push the food down into the stomach. When the esophageal sphincter becomes too relaxed and it is not as strong as it should be, the food in the stomach comes back up through the esophagus, causing acid reflux. Hiatal hernias and a slow or weak esophagus can also trigger acid reflux. A weak or slow esophagus is just not able to get the food to the stomach on a schedule that is right for proper digestion.

Acid Reflux Treatment

If you have acid reflux, the first thing you need to change is your lifestyle. You need to learn how to control your acid reflux by eating smaller meals as well as losing any excess weight you have. If you smoke or drink alcohol, you will have to give those up too. You can prevent acid reflux by becoming more active and moving around for a few hours after meals. You may even try sleeping with an extra pillow to elevate your head above your stomach.

You may need to start using over the counter medication that is designed for the symptoms of acid reflux. These medications neutralize the acid amounts in your stomach, thus there is less acid to rise up. You can try such medications as Pepcid, Zantac, Mylanta and Tagamet. Pepcid and Zantac are known as histamine receptor antagonists.

If your symptoms of acid reflux get worse, you may need proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium and Prevacid prescribed by your doctor. These medications will stop the acid release into the stomach and the intestines. Another medication, Reglan, is a promotility agent and its function is to get the esophagus to function the way it should. Reglan forces the esophagus to speed up and empty faster so digestion can go at a healthy pace.

If you think you have acid reflux problems, contact your doctor about getting treatment. Your doctor can prescribe the proper treatment for your particular situation.