GERD Disease Research Paper

Once diagnosed, I found the paucity of reliable, concrete treatments shocking; but, using extensive PubMed research, I cured myself within a year. I overcame GERD by changing habits, chugging gallons of aloe vera leaf juice and essentially understanding my body’s natural processes and ethnobotany, which I found personally relieving and intellectually fascinating. My victory prompted me to partake in Townsend’s series of scientific research classes, requiring my joining an academic laboratory

When suffering from GERD, it is important to know how to adjust in order to decrease the likelihood from suffering from signs and symptoms of this disease. A person with GERD should try to figure out what kind of food triggers the reflux. There are many foods that may irritate our stomach, for example, coffee, alcohols, tomatoes, and fatty foods, however, each and every one of us may be sensitive for a particular food/beverage and once we find out what it is we have to eliminate it. It is also crucial to decrease the size of our meal. If we are prone to acid reflux, it is important that we don’t lie flat for three hours after we have eaten a meal or snack.

GERD is a condition that occurs when the contents of the stomach back up to the esophagus due to the relaxation or weakening of the lower esophageal sphincter. The common causes of GERD include:

Gastroesophageal reflux is a medical condition characterized by reflux of acidic juices into the esophagus, resulting in symptoms of regurgitation (sour taste in mouth) and reflux (burning in the chest). This is an extremely common condition in the United States. Factors such as obesity, alcohol use, tobacco use, certain medications, and various diets and lifestyle decisions increase your risk of developing gastroesophageal reflux. Long term disease can lead to a precancerous condition called Barrett esophagus.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common digestive disease that affects the esophagus when stomach acid flows backwards causing discomfort. Many people seem to experience this digestive disease from time to time. There are plenty of symptoms for gastroesophageal reflux disease. For instance, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can cause poor quality of sleep and a variety of sleep disturbances such heartburns, vomiting, or hoarseness in adults. This is when swellness becomes a big issue with the throat and cause the individual to have a difficult time swallowing.

Inhaled allergens, such as pollen, can also cause this form of esophagitis. Reflux esophagitis is usually due to a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is when the stomach contents, including acids, frequently back up into the esophagus. This causes chronic inflammation and irritation of the esophagus. Drug-induced esophagitis can occur when you take certain medications with insufficient water. This causes them to linger in the esophagus too long. Medications may include pain relievers, antibiotics, potassium chloride, and bisphosphonates (drugs that prevent bone loss). Infectious esophagitis is rare and can be due to bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites. You are at increased risk for this type of esophagitis if you have a weakened immune system due to disease and/or medications. This type of inflammation is common in people with HIV or AIDS, cancer, and diabetes.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a digestive disorder in which the stomach contents back into the esophagus” (MedlinePlus, n.d.). It affects the muscle between the stomach and esophagus. It’s also known as GERD or reflux.

When patients frequently have heartburn they most likely have GERD. It occurs when stomach content such as food and liquid back up into the esophagus due to a malfunction/loosening of the lower esophageal sphincter. When those contents back up, they cause irritation to the esophagus leading to heartburn. Heartburn should be managed carefully, if it persists, overtime it can cause damage to the lining of the esophagus. Clinicians should educate patients regarding things they can do to minimize the reflux. Patients should be educated to avoid carbonated drinks, citrus, caffeine, alcohol, fatty and spicy foods etc. patients should also be educated to not eat within 3-4 hours before sleep because if they lays down after eating the content in

Patients who experience “frequent heartburn or acid regurgitation are considered to have gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), unless proven otherwise”. (Tindall, Sedrak, & Boltri, 2014, p. 181). The stomach acid or reflux causes irritation to the esophagus, which leads to GERD. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2014, para. 1). Frequent signs and symptoms of GERD include difficulty swallowing, chest pain that radiates to the back, heartburn, sour taste in mouth, hoarseness or sore throat, sensation of a lump in your throat, or a dry cough. (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 2014, para. 1). GERD can be worse or aggravated by meals and by lying down. (Tindall et al., 2014, p. 181).

Among the most common symptoms of gastrointestinal reflux, heartburn comes to the fore, because it is a sharp pain that quickly radiates from the epigastrium to the throat, then rolling in different body parts such as the legs and arms. Many patients suffer from these symptoms that are often intermittent and develop within one hour after the lunch was served. Regurgitation and vomiting are also been recorded in many cases. Other symptoms may also be part of gastrointestinal reflux, such as dysphagia, cough reflex, and respiratory disease. The severity of injuries caused by gastrointestinal reflux is determined primarily by the disease process, when the patients have been subject to repeated attacks.

The doctor diagnose GERD based on: The symptoms, which the patient has like common heartburn and other symptoms, the doctor also will make a test, which will determine the amount of acid inside the food pipe. The device determines when and for how long stomach acid backs up into the food pipe. There are two kind of devices. One is a catheter, which will be inserting in the nose into the food pipe. The other one is a clip, which is positioned in the food pipe during endoscopy. If the patient has GERD and has to have a surgery, he or she also may have other tests like: an x-ray of the upper digestive system. The patient drinks a chalky liquid, which coats the inside covering of the food pipe, this allows the doctor to see a silhouette of the

Symptoms of GERD can be a very uncomfortable affecting the patient in many ways and reducing a patients quality of life.  Because of the discomfort, sleeping at night can be made very difficult, impacting the persons ability to perform daily tasks the following day.  GERD can also lead to a condition called Barrett's esophagus where there are cellular changes in the esophagus that can lead to esophageal cancer.  Treatment with metoclopramide can decrease symptoms and promote healing of the esophageal lining restoring a patient's ability to have a fulfilling

Acid reflux occurs when some of the acid content of the stomach flows back up into the esophagus. The stomach contains hydrochloric acid, which is there to help aid in digestion and to protect against harmful bacteria. The gastroesophageal sphincter protects the esophagus from the acid in the stomach by acting as a valve and not letting the acid back up into the esophagus. At times, the valve can fail and it allows the acid to back up into the esophagus, thus creating the sensation of heartburn (MacGill, 2015).

The results of the study were that patients with GERD taking a PPI, 650 cases of

Heartburn and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). GERD is a digestive condition that makes stomach acid flow back up into your esophagus.