Do you need long-term medication for reflux esophagitis?

The treatment of reflux esophagitis does not require long-term medication. The main purpose of reflux esophagitis is to heal the esophagitis, that is, to repair the damage to the esophageal mucosa. One of the things that can cause damage to the esophageal mucosa is the irritation of stomach acid, another is the irritation of the esophageal mucosa by food in the stomach, and the other is the relaxation of the pressure of the esophageal sphincter. In terms of medication for reflux esophagitis, the first thing to do is to use some acid-suppressing drugs to inhibit the excessive secretion of gastric acid and reduce the stimulation of acid on the esophageal mucosa. For the formed erosive esophagitis, mucosal protectors should be used to protect the esophageal mucosa from acid and gastroduodenal contents that can damage the mucosa. In addition to this, power drugs are used to accelerate the emptying function of the esophagus and stomach in order to reduce their damage to the esophageal mucosa. Conventional treatment is with PPI plus motivational agents, and the mucosal damage of reflux esophagitis is usually completely healed by 4-8 weeks of treatment. After that, if the patient still has symptoms of GERD such as reflux and heartburn, he or she may have to undergo on-demand medication as in the case of non-erosive GERD.