What does acid reflux mean?
Acid reflux is a very common condition in which the gastric juices do not go down to the intestinal tract, but instead go up the esophagus and even back down to the throat area. The “stuff” that comes back up contains highly acidic digestive juices that can cause “burns” to the esophagus and throat area, similar to throwing sulfuric acid on your face in the movies, only the effect is not as dramatic. The typical sensation of the esophagus being flowed by gastric juices is the burning sensation behind the sternum, which is often referred to as “heartburn”, and the “acidity” that comes back to the throat is indescribable. Some people are very sensitive to acid reflux and can clearly describe it; many others do not notice the typical symptoms of acid reflux, but only feel discomfort in the throat, behind the sternum, as well as cough, asthma and other symptoms, these various diseases caused by gastric reflux are collectively known as GERD.
The big trouble behind acid reflux
An instantaneous bout of acid reflux can take a long time for both the esophagus and the throat to repair. If it occurs repeatedly, it can cause several big troubles as follows.
1. Reflux esophagitis, heartburn, pain and fullness behind the sternum.
2, reflux pharyngitis, recurrent burning pain in the throat and painful, foreign body sensation in the throat.
3, chronic cough, acid reflux is one of the three main causes of chronic cough that is badly delayed.
4, asthma, laryngospasm, academician Wang Zhonghao is suffering from it, many times these symptoms and was rescued.
5, stubborn sinusitis, otitis media, and even precancerous lesions in the larynx.
How to confirm the presence of acid reflux?
If you do not have obvious symptoms of heartburn or acid reflux, but have conditions such as chronic cough and asthma as mentioned above, you should check whether it is related to acid reflux.
1. 24-hour esophageal PH test (the gold standard for diagnosing GERD), this test puts tiny monitoring electrodes through the nose and into the esophagus through the throat. By observing the PH changes in the pharynx and esophagus area over a 24-hour period, we can determine if there is reflux of gastric juices.
2.Gastroscopy, the current electronic gastroscopy can clearly show whether the mucous membrane of the esophagus has been “burned” by gastric juice, which is the second major evidence to prove the presence of gastric reflux.
3, diagnostic treatment (PPI test), the two tests mentioned above are more or less uncomfortable to perform, especially for children, and it is difficult to complete the PPI test, which involves taking acid-suppressing medication for more than a week, and if the symptoms are reduced after taking the medication, it is highly suspected to be GERD, and then consider whether to do a 24-hour esophageal PH test, gastroscopy, or start formal acid-suppressing medication.
How is it treated?
There are three main types of treatment
1. Lifestyle changes The following are recommended in the US GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) guidelines.
Elevate the head of the bed, stop eating 3 hours before bedtime, reduce body mass, stop smoking and drinking, avoid high-fat foods, and reduce the intake of foods that can lower the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter (e.g. chocolate, thin heels, coffee, onions, garlic, etc.). This way looks insignificant, but sometimes plays a role even more than drugs.
2.Drug treatment
Medications that inhibit the production of stomach acid, such as lansoprazole, rabeprazole, esomeprazole, etc., can significantly reduce the gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms caused by GERD in more than half of patients.
3.Surgical treatment
Acid reflux needs surgery? In fact, it is not surprising that 20-40% of the patients who suffer from GERD are not well treated with medication, and surgery needs to be considered. As mentioned earlier, Academician Wang Zhonghao had many laryngospasms and asthma attacks, which were unsatisfactorily treated with medication and finally received a second life only after laparoscopic gastric folding surgery. Many forms of gastroesophageal reflux surgery have developed, and in addition to laparoscopic ones, there are also transoral endoscopic surgeries, which have no incisions in the abdomen. Acid reflux is not that simple and it is a complex process from diagnosis to treatment. This disease fully demonstrates that the human body is a whole and it is not uncommon for a disease of one organ to cause severe symptoms in another organ, which is the reason why many persistent diseases are not well diagnosed and treated. The doctor’s job is sometimes like Sherlock Holmes, to find out the truth behind some clues. We hope that in the future, we can solve more persistent diseases with the same idea of solving GERD.