Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease There are a few diseases that is very commonly diagnosed, especially in the modern and developed countries of the world. One of these commonly diagnosed diseases is, gastroesophageal reflux disease. Within the last three decades the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease has increased by two-fold (Sonnenberg). There are multiple reasons and hypothesis why this disease is so prevalent especially in the wealthier countries of the world. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a digestive disorder that is usually caused by an abnormality in the lower esophageal sphincter allowing reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus (What Is GERD?). When this happens that esophagus will become sore, irritated, and inflamed. …show more content…
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 …show more content…
Antacids are taken to neutralize the acid from the stomach (What is GERD?). It is important to note that antacids taken for long periods of time can harm the kidneys by a build up of magnesium in the body and an altered calciummetabolism (What is GERD?). Some other drugs that are also recommended by doctors are H2 blockers which inhibit acid secretion in the stomach. These include Zantac and Pepcid. It is very important to treat this disease because continual acid in the esophagus will lead to other even harmful diseases. If left untreated and acid reflux continues regularly, the patient is at risk for developing other various esophagus disorders such as, ulcers, Barret’s Disease, esophagitis, and esophageal adenocarcinoma (Sonnenberg). According to an article written by Ammon Sonnonberg and Heshem B. El-Serag, esophageal adenocarcinoma causes 2.5 deaths per million people. Often the symptoms of gastroesphageal reflux disease are a poor indicator to the severity of the disease and esophageal condition. A gastrointestinal endoscopy is usually performed to determine the condition of the esophagus (Sonnenberg). This can also be used to check the lower esophageal sphincter
This condition is characterized by symptoms and complications that result from reflux or back of gastric content into the esophagus that extent also into the oral cavity or even the lungs. Common signs and symptoms of this condition include heartburn( burning/stinging), and does note that radiates to the back such as in the case of Peptic Ulcer Disease (PUD). Furthermore, other symptoms patients may experience are a chronic cough, bronchospasm, chest pain not related to a cardiomyopathy, hoarseness, early satiety, abdominal fullness, bloating with belching. Complications related to this disorder are closely linked to esophageal ulceration, hematemesis, melena, stricture development(Dains, Baumann, & Scheibel,
Antacids are medicines that can be bought over-the-counter which are taken by mouth and can help to quickly relieve acidic refluxes in the body.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antacid The major symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), are taste of acid, bad breath, chest pains, etc. GERD is a long term condition where stomach contents come back up into the esophagus. Complications include esophageal strictures and Barrett’s esophagus.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease An Esophageal Stricture is a narrowing or tightening of the esophagus that causes swallowing difficulties.
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.
Ms. Le is a 25 year-old female, with a height of 5’0” and weights 160 lbs. She described herself as not very active who does not regularly exercise and consumes a high amount of fast food and a few alcoholic beverages weekly. She is currently taking prescription medication called Caziant as a contraceptive and moderately takes ibuprofen for headaches and heartburns. She has a medical history of vomiting, heartburn, chest pains, and sever tooth erosion. Due to the many examinations that Ms. Le underwent such as the endoscopy and ph-monitoring test, she was diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease also known as GERD.
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an increasingly recognized disease in both the pediatric and adult populations. The disease is characterized clinically by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction, including dysphagia, heart burn, feeding difficulty, vomiting, abdominal pain, and food impaction in children. 1 While the symptoms are similar to those of gastroesophageal reflux, the pathophysiology is instead related to chronic antigen and immunologically- mediated inflammation characterized histologically by the prominence of eosinophils, and, critically, the symptoms do not improve with typical anti-reflux treatment. 2 The purpose of this brief review of EoE is to outline the key epidemiology, clinical and pathophysiological characteristics,
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.
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.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease is characterized by a variety of symptoms, including the common “heartburn” and acid regurgitation, as well as the not so common chest pain (unrelated to the heart), chronic cough, hoarseness, and throat irritation. It is more familiarly known as GERD and is one of the most common chronic and rapidly growing diseases of today; yet, the underlying cause is still unclear. There seem to be many different theories on what causes GERD, but the most common treatment is the Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI).
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), commonly known as acid reflux disease, is a disorder in which the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not completely close and the stomach contents, including the acid, leak back, into the esophagus. The LES is a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus that acts like a valve between the esophagus and the stomach. Your stomach is filled with acid and its main purpose is to digest the foods you eat. This acid is known to be as strong as battery acid, which your stomach was built to handle, but unfortunately your, esophagus was not. This backflow of stomach acid can irritate and sometimes damage the lining of the esophagus. If it is not controlled, acid reflux or GERD can result in serious problems,
Control gastroesophageal reflux disease(GERD). See your doctor about getting GERD under control, it can be controlled early enough to possibly prevent esophageal cancer.
Many people have a hiatal hernia with no symptoms. The larger the hernia, the more likely that you will have symptoms. In some cases, a hiatal hernia allows stomach acid to flow back into the tube that carries food from your mouth to your stomach (esophagus). This may cause heartburn symptoms. Severe heartburn symptoms may mean that you have developed a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
GERD is a condition caused by stomach acid or stomach content coming up from the stomach into the esophagus. This backwash causes irritation in the esophagus, as the stomach acid damages the esophageal lining. Most cases of GERD occur in infants and adults. For infants, the most common cause of GERD is due to pyloric stenosis, a condition that affects the gastrointestinal tract as it narrows the pylorus. This causes food to flow backward as it cannot make its way to the stomach, thus causing the baby to vomit. In adults, the most common cause of
Most of the patients with GERD fall into 1 of 2 categories: erosive esophagitis or nonerosive reflux disease (NERD). The 2 main phenotypes of GERD appear to have different pathophysiological and clinical characteristics. Furthermore, NERD and erosive esophagitis clearly diverge when it comes to response to antireflux treatment. NERD patients have a significantly lower response rate to proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy, and consequently they constitute the majority of the refractory heartburn group (Hershcovici and Fass, 2010).
BE is found in 5–15% of patients who seek medical care for chronic heartburn10. However, due to the widespread availability of acid-suppressant medications, many patients with reflux symptoms choose to not undergo an expensive endoscopy unless their symptoms are persistent or refractory to medical therapy. Nevertheless, up to 40% of esophageal adenocarcinomas occur in patients without prior reflux
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.