Acid Reflux, Heartburn or G.E.R.D

These days it seems like almost everyone has acid reflux and is taking Nexium,Protonix, Prilosec, Aciphex or Prevacid. In fact, approximately 10% of the U.S. population suffers from acid reflux. Some common symptoms for acid reflux are a burning sensation in the chest that is usually worse at night, nausea after eating, vomiting, a sour taste in your mouth or throat coming up from the stomach, bloating and burping, sore throat or hoarseness of the voice and coughing. These symptoms are caused when acid from your stomach moves up into your esophagus, a muscular tube that connects your throat with your stomach. Some common risk factors for acid reflux include things such as being overweight, smoking, asthma, being pregnant, drinking alcohol and/or caffeinated beverages, eating spicy foods, hormone replacement therapy for postmenopausal women, snacking just before going to bed, as well as eating heavy meals and then laying on your back or bending over from the waist. Untreated chronic acid reflux can lead to a condition called Barrett’s esophagus which can lead to strictures, which is an abnormal narrowing of your esophagus and is considered a precancerous condition. If you suffer from acid reflux you should be aware that the national institute of health warns that many medications can aggravate your symptoms. Some of the medications that can aggravate acid reflux include calcium channel blockers and beta blockers used to treat high blood pressure, tricyclic antidepressants, bronchodilators for asthma, as well as certain medications used to treat Parkinson’s disease, insomnia and certain birth control pills. Two common conditions that can cause acid reflux are a Helicobacter Pylori infection and low stomach acid which will cause putrefaction of proteins in your stomach which lead to reflux. This article deals with Helicobacter Pylori. It is estimated that half of the population has a H. Pylori infection although for many there are no signs or symptoms associated with this infection which tends to be located in your stomach. For some however, it may cause acid reflux, ulcers and ultimately stomach cancer. Laboratory analysis that can determine a Helicobacter Pylori infection as well as low stomach acid are available at standard laboratories yet do not seem to be ordered on a regular basis when one is being evaluated for the symptoms. If these tests come back positive, this is a condition that can be treated with antibiotics or naturally with certain botanicals. The results may mean that you longer need to take Nexium, Prilosec or other common medication commonly prescribed for acid reflux. If you have symptoms of acid reflux or suspect you have an H. Pylori infection, you may want to contact your physician and ask to have these a test run.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 4th, 2011 at 11:04 pm and is filed under alternative health, complimentary and alternative medicine, Dr. Nelson Mane D.C. Tampa Florida, featured, Health News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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