What is Acid Reflux or GERD?

* When you eat or drink something, the food or liquid reaches your stomach by passing from your throat, behind your voice box, and then through a muscular tube called the esophagus to arrive in your stomach.
* Once the food reaches your stomach, your stomach puts out acid and pepsin (a digestive enzyme) to digest the food.
* Your esophagus has two sphincters (bands of muscle fibers that close off the tube) to help keep the digested food, acid, and pepsin where they belong.

1. The first sphincter is at the top of the esophagus at its junction with the upper throat just behind the larynx.
2. The second sphincter is at the bottom of the esophagus at its junction with the stomach. Normally this remains closed until the bolus of food and/or liquid reaches it. However, in many individuals including children, the muscle tone is poor. The sphincter remains open, allowing stomach contents to "reflux" up the esophagus and into the throat.
3. The refluxed stomach contents may even be aspirated into the trachea, bronchi, and lungs, causing further difficulties.There may also be a hiatal hernia associated with acid reflux. This is a condition in which part of the stomach slides up above the diaphragm into the chest. Not only do symptoms of reflux occur, but there may be pain around the lower part of the sternum.

What is GERD or LPR?

* Acid Reflux occurs when stomach contents pass up into the esophagus and sometimes into the throat. There are two types of reflux which may occur independently or together.

* GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease):
This occurs with an excessive amount of reflux of stomach acid up through the lower sphincter and into the esophagus. This is commonly associated with "heartburn", which occurs in almost 100% of patients with GERD.

* LPR (Laryngopharyngeal Reflux):
This occurs when reflux into the esophagus extends above the upper sphincter into the throat. The structures and tissues of the larynx (voice box), throat, trachea, bronchi, and lungs are more sensitive to stomach acid and digestive enzymes than the esophagus. It usually occurs without heartburn. Only 14% or less of the patients with this problem experience heartburn.

GERD occurs chiefly because of the following three reasons:

1. The esophagus's normal defenses are overwhelmed by the acid content of the stomach.
2. The contents of the stomach are too acidic .
3. The food is not cleared from the esophagus fast enough.

The Type of Acid Reflux:

1. When "refluxed" stomach acid touches the lining of the esophagus, it causes a burning sensation in the chest or throat called heartburn. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week may be considered GERD
2. The fluid may even reach the back of the mouth, and this is called acid indigestion.

Long-term effects of acid reflux:

Acid reflux into the esophagus and throat may cause the following:

• Barrett's esophagitis
• Cancer of the esophagus
• Adult-onset asthma
• Possibly cancer of the larynx
  

resource : Dochazenfield