Digestive Diseases And The Digestive Tract

     In this article, you are informed about a disease that is occurring more often in our society. It is commonly referred to as “heartburn” but is more appropriately named acid reflux disease or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Most people suffer from this disease, but think nothing of it. Perhaps they have felt it after a big meal, lying down after eating, during pregnancy, or even when bending over. Most people feel that GERD occurs after eating spicy foods, when in fact the major cause of GERD is fatty foods and the quantity of foods eaten.

The most common causes of heartburn, other than pregnancy, are obesity, overeating, ingestion of certain foods, and smoking. If your senior loved one suffers from heartburn, at home care providers can help them determine the source of the problem and assist with solutions.

GERD is another name for heartburn. There is a backflow of gastric and duodenal content that past the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) into the esophagus. As reflux of gastric acid causes acute epigastric pain after eating a meal. The pain can radiate to the person arm and then chest. The LES usually retains sufficient pressure around the lesser end of the esophagus to close it and prevent reflex. As the sphincter relaxes with each swallow, the food empty into the stomach. High acidity in the stomach triggers irritation and pain as the content enters the esophagus causing reflux esophagitis. In GERD, the sphincter is open, due to incompetent LES pressure or increase pressure within the stomach exceeds LES pressure. The pressure in the stomach propels the content into the esophagus.

GERD disease, commonly referred to as GERD or acid reflux, is a condition in which the liquid content of the stomach regurgitates (backs up or refluxes) into the esophagus. The liquid can inflame and damage the lining (esophagitis) although visible signs of inflammation occur in a minority of patients. The regurgitated liquid usually contains acid and pepsin that are produced by the stomach. (Pepsin is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins in the stomach.) The refluxed liquid also may contain bile that has backed-up into the stomach from the duodenum. The first part of the small intestine attached to the stomach. Acid is believed to be the most injurious component of the refluxed liquid.

Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), commonly known as Acid Reflux, is a disease that is now affecting a lot of teenagers over the world. GERD is a heartburn caused by a leaky valve at the base of your esophagus that allows stomach acid to regurgitate (Livestrong). GERD is also caused by a bacteria found in your stomach known as Helicobacter Pylori. H. Pylori attacks the lining of your stomach and later when it has done enough damage, acidic fluid is able to get through the lining and into your esophagus, causing a heartburn (WebMD). Most people do acquire h. pylori during their childhood but most only develop its symptoms later on in life and some are never affected by the bacteria, never developing any symptoms.

Heartburn is actually a symptom of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), and is caused by acid refluxing back into the esophagus. Risk factors include those that increase the production of acid in the stomach, as well as structural problems that allow acid reflux into the esophagus.

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a digestive disorder that affects the lower esophageal sphincter or the ring between esophagus and the stomach. (Cold et al., 2017) Dietary and lifestyle choices contribute to GERD. Foods such as chocolate, peppermint, fried foods, coffee, and alcoholic beverages can cause GERD. GERD is caused by stomach acid moving up into the esophagus. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) signs and symptoms might be pain in the chest that has a burning feeling. This happens after eating most of the time. Other symptoms could be heartburn, nausea, dry cough or a bitter taste. These symptoms can or may get worse when laying down. -Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) - One of the tests that can be administered

The most common symptom that most of the people face during a bout of acidity is the regular distress that they feel in the digestive tract. The main reason for this condition is that, the stomach produces an acid to breakdown the food to help digestion. If this acid is not produced in the right amount, leading to the improper breakdown, the acid starts to accumulate and starts to move up the food pipe causing the digestive distress (http://www.joybynature.com/collections/digestion).

Most often gastroesophageal reflux occurs after eating food. It usually presents itself quite within a couple minutes after eating and the symptoms can last up to 2 hours (What Is GERD?). It happens when the lower esophageal sphincter is weakened and does not properly seal the stomach contents from getting into the esophagus (What Is GERD?). One of the most common symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease is heartburn (Acid Reflux). About 60 million Americans get heartburn at least once a month (What Is GERD?). Many pregnant women will experience heartburn regularly. Heartburn refers to a burning pain that is located in the esophagus (Acid Reflux). It is quite common symptom that is experienced, yet not all people with gastroesophageal reflux disease will experience this. It can feel as if the throat is on fire because of the acid that is present. It causes much discomfort and pain. Some of the other symptoms that people with gastroesophageal disease will face is regurgitation of food or stomach acids, bitter taste in the mouth, and a tight feeling in the throat (Acid Reflux). Many of these symptoms are preventable if careful and restricting actions are

Acid Reflux is excessive flow of gastric contents back into the esophagus. Normally, there is an occasional backflow into the esophagus with no symptoms. The acidic gastric contents, when present in large amounts, irritate the esophagus and cause the symptoms of heartburn.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (G.E.R.D.), also referred to as acid reflux, occurs when stomach contents flow up from the stomach into the esophagus. This causes a burning sensation in the chest that worsens when lying down. (MayoClinic, 2014) More than 60 million people in the U.S. have experienced acid reflux at least once a month, and more than 15 million experience acid reflux daily. (Kirsch, 2014)

Conditions that lead to acid reflux generally occur as a result of abnormal anatomic or pathophysiologic processes. Often times it is causes by increased intraabdominal pressure, which facilitates acid backflow from the stomach to the esophagus. Some of these can include:

According to MedlinePlus (n.d.) the cause of GERD is when the muscle fibers that are in the lower esophagus called lower esophageal sphincter do not close all the way and stomach contents flow back into the esophagus. Pregnancy can also be a cause.

GERD is the short abbreviation for gastroesophageal reflux disease. This condition is the reflux if acid, pepsin, or bile salts from the stomach into the esophagus. Esophagitis is the end result of GERD. As mentioned by AUTH (), there are several risk factors that will increase a parsons chance of experiencing GERD. Those who are older in age, obese, have a hiatal hernia, and certain drugs or chemicals that relax the LES will experience this reflux disease. There are several conditions that become triggered with the presence of GRED. For some individuals this conditions can be a trigger fir asthma or chronic cough. Gastroesophageal reflex will cause an damage to the esophagus due to the acidic material. While there is an other condition called

The digestive system is a very important but complex system. It is made up of main and accessory organs, the main organs are the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. The accessory organs are teeth, tongue, salivary glands, liver, gallbladder, pancreas and appendix (Thibodeau and Patton's, 2012). Both, main and accessory organs have specific roles and functions which allow digestion to happen efficiently. In order for the digestive system to make nutrients available to each cell of the body, the system uses various mechanisms. The prime mechanisms of the digestive system are ingestion, digestion, motility, secretion, absorption, elimination and regulation (Thibodeau and Patton's, 2012).