Archive for November, 2009


Acid Reflux Symptoms To Watch For

Have you every wondered if you have acid reflux? There are a few symptoms you can watch for, before visiting your doctor. Your esophagus is the muscle in your throat that gets the food from your throat into your stomach for digestion. Sometimes things work in reverse, and in that case stomach acids can come back up from your stomach into your esophagus. This can happen frequently or intermittently. Patients with acid reflux may go for weeks without experiencing symptoms, and then have a re-occurrence. It really depends on the individual, and the severity of the condition.

Achy Breaky Heart

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Causes and Risk Factors of Acid Reflux

Gastro-esophageal reflux, commonly referred to as acid reflux, is a very common disorder, affecting more than 7 percent of the American population. Acid reflux can occur in people of all ages, although it is more common in newborns and young children. Unlike children, which are rarely confronted with long-term symptoms of acid reflux, adults usually suffer from recurrent forms of the disorder. The process of diagnosing acid reflux is simple and it generally involves clinical examinations. Patients’ reports of symptoms and physical indicators of acid reflux are usually sufficient in diagnosing the disease. However, in special cases doctors may perform additional tests in order to confirm presumptive clinical diagnoses.

The causes of acid reflux are various and of multiple natures. In most cases, chronic acid reflux disease is caused by physiological dysfunctions, on the premises of inappropriate activity of the lower esophageal sphincter or excessive pressure inside the stomach. The lower esophageal sphincter is a ring-shaped muscular valve that normally acts as a barrier between the esophagus and the stomach. In normal conditions, this valve only opens during the swallowing of food, otherwise remaining closed. If the lower esophageal sphincter is weakened or its integrity is compromised (due to physical trauma), the content of the stomach can be easily regurgitated inside the esophagus and the oral cavity.

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What is a natural cure for acid reflux?

It seems like I constantly have indigestion… the doc had me on Aciphex and that seemed to help. Now I’m out and I don’t want to keep taking a prescription… is there something I can do naturally?

Acid reflux causes are complicated and multiple. The disease of acid reflux, known also as GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease), comes about because of the coincidence of several medical and lifestyle factors. Physiological conditions that provoke reflux include LES (lower esophageal sphincter) hypotonia (the progressive weakening of the LES), together with the backwards flow of the contents of the stomach into the esophagus and the sensitivity to the reflux content of the mucus of the esophagus.


The food that you swallow moves down your throat and contractions of the esophagus muscles then push it further. In the area of the junction of the esophagus and the stomach, there is a valve-like mechanism which is the LES (lower esophageal sphincter). Closing this muscle stops stomach acid from returning or refluxing into the esophagus.

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