How to Identify and Treat Common Acid Reflux Symptoms

Introduction

The most commonly reported gastrointestinal problem is acid reflux or heartburn. Acid reflux affects around 25% of people in the United Kingdom.

What are the telltale signs of acid reflux? What are the most frequent acid reflux symptoms to look out for? This useful information will all be revealed in this article.

What is Acid Reflux?

The lower oesophageal sphincter is the muscle that links your oesophagus (food pipe) to your stomach. When food enters the stomach, this sphincter tightens the pipe and prevents acid from travelling back up the oesophagus if it’s weak. When stomach acid reaches your oesophagus, it may cause an unpleasant tingling sensation in your upper chest/neck/throat.

When you take too much acid, however, it can be harmful. Don’t be afraid when we tell you that you have acid in your stomach; the acid in your stomach aids in the breakdown of both solid and liquid food. It’s designed to stay in the stomach, which is why issues arise if it leaves unintentionally.

How To Treat Acid Reflux

It’s great to understand what to anticipate if you have acid reflux, but how do you cure it? Treatment for acid reflux may range from natural cures to specialized medicines.

Omeprazole from Express Pharmacy is a popular over-the-counter antacid that can help you manage more severe GERD symptoms, including heartburn. Express Pharmacy sells Omeprazole 20mg to assist you to cope with your pain; simply consume the tablet before eating.

For the occasional heartburn sufferer, popping a simple over-the-counter antacid like Tums before and or after eating a spicy or heavy meal can help. Pepto Bismol is also commonly used and it is more effective than simple calcium supplements for more severe cases of heartburn/indigestion.

However, if you prefer natural solutions and want a long-term fix, acid reflux is most often caused by poor lifestyle choices, notably what you eat. Changing up your diet to include lean meats, vegetables and fruit can slowly but surely provide long lasting relief.

Exercise is also crucial. It’s a fact that overweight and obese people generally suffer from acid reflux more often than healthy individuals. Sedentary lifestyle is a killer, quite literally. Also, drinkers are highly susceptible to acid reflux so it’s important to tone it down or quit altogether.

All in all, changing up your lifestyle to include healthy nutrition and daily exercise is the best remedy for acid reflux. Suffering from the occasional bout of acid reflux is one thing but chronic acid reflux generally requires more than just a pill fix.

Treatment aside, here’s how you can recognize common and chronic acid reflux. You need to know you have a problem before you can tackle it with a solution.

Common Acid Reflux Symptoms

Heartburn

The most typical symptom of acid reflux is heartburn, which is discomfort in the upper chest. This pain, which may be felt as a stabbing, scorching, or constricting sensation in the neck, throat, or chest (behind the breastbone), is quite common.

Regurgitation

Acid travelling up into your oesophagus can also cause an unpleasant taste in the back of your throat or mouth. This bitter/sour or metallic flavour in your mouth is caused by stomach acid leaking into your throat, which is difficult to shake and often lasts as long as other symptoms do.

Dysphagia

Acid reflux, which is characterized by the feeling that food is caught in your throat, leads to several symptoms. Difficulty swallowing (dysphagia) may cause coughing and choking. This sensation might be caused by the leaking of stomach acid into your oesophagus, making you feel nauseous while also causing a hoarse voice.

Hiccups

The diaphragm muscle can spasm, causing your vocal chords to snap shut and produce a little recurring sound; this is known as the hiccup. Acid reflux may lead to recurrent hiccups that refuse to go away.

Severe Acid Reflux Symptoms

GERD, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GER), is a severe type of acid reflux. This condition’s pain can’t be relieved as simply as other heartburn and long-term injuries might result in considerable health issues, such as cancer.

GERD is characterized by the same symptoms as acid reflux, but because of its intensity, it can also produce some of its own which should be addressed…

Enamel Damage

Your tooth enamel may be damaged as a result of the frequent exposure to acid that occurs with GERD.

The enamel on your teeth serves as a barrier against decay. Because continual acid reflux can harm the outer layer of your enamel, it’s important to take measures such as brushing your teeth after having an episode.

Asthma

One sign of GERD is that stomach acid will erode the protective mucus in your throat and airways. GERD patients may develop asthma if their airways are narrower than normal as a consequence of their condition.

Asthma is a condition in which a person struggles to breathe and can even cause coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.

Conclusion

Acid reflux is one of those things that usually creeps up on us when we least expect it, but for some, acid reflux is a common part of daily life. If you are the latter, it’s very important to seek a treatment that will last.

Knowing how to recognize signs and symptoms of acid reflux is the first place to start. Most often, acid refulx is caused by poor diet or a combination of poor diet and lifestyle choices. For example, if you eat spicy food and or drink alcohol daily, it’s probably time to re-evaluate things.

Therefore, the best fix for both common acid reflux and chronic acid reflux is to change up your lifestyle. If you’re eating garbage on the regular, your body is going to respond in equal fashion.

But for the occasional bout of acid reflux, taking an over-the-counter medication goes a long way. Though, if a long term fix is something you desire, it’s ultimately all about your lifestyle choices.

Do you suffer from acid reflux or do you have GERD? What solutions have you tried? Did they work? Let us know in the comments below…

About Theresa Duncan

Originally from Detroit, MI, Theresa has been offering health and fitness advice for the last 30 years while working as an engineer. She decided to turn her passion into a profession, and finds nothing more satisfying than helping others reach their health and fitness goals.