The digestive system is underestimated in terms of its importance to the human body. Food provides man with nutrients and energy needed to live a healthy and long life.
The role that the digestive system plays is to take in all the food, process it, extract needed nutrients, break down the remaining matter, and eliminate the waste. The system does this efficiently by secreting acids and digestive fluids in the stomach to facilitate the process. The stomach has a protective lining that keeps the acids from harming the tissue of the stomach.
In order to reach the stomach, food has to pass through the esophagus and it is here that problems can arise. The esophagus is more vulnerable than the stomach and can more readily suffer damage. If for any reason, the acids reach back into the esophagus, you will experience a searing, tight sensation often referred to as heartburn.
Many people dismiss the initial step in a disease known as acid reflux, heartburn as merely indigestion. To leave this untreated is unwise as acid reflux affects many parts of your body. The uncomfortable feeling can inhibit many parts of your life as well. The burning feeling soon rises from your upper abdomen into your esophagus and then into your throat where it can manifest itself as an acrid taste and a dry cough. The potential for ulcerated linings of your passageways is high. Swallowing becomes difficult and then eating becomes a chore.
The severity of the symptoms is a large determinant of the treatment method for acid reflux can be neutralized or even cured. When the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) does not function properly, acid will back up into the esophagus and cause the burning feeling described above. Damage occurs when the acids remain in contact with the unprotected surfaces of the tissue.
The most used medication for acid reflux is antacid tablets or liquid. The best way to administer these remedies is to take them orally at least thirty minutes after a meal and make sure you ingest the prescribed amount to get the full effect. Antacids are obtained over the counter. This availability and the easy administration account for their frequent use. Some antacids actually form a temporary protective layer that the gastric juices cannot penetrate.
Other prescribed medications can be sought through the advice of a doctor for these treat more severe cases of acid reflux. As a first step, doctors will recommend a change in diet to reduce the amount of acids produced in your digestive process. Certain types of food will trigger the onset of this unpleasant condition and your doctor can specify which foods to limit or eliminate altogether.
The absolute last step to take is to elect surgery. This is extremely invasive and can be expensive although techniques have advanced to the point where microsurgery is possible thus reducing recovery time. All other avenues of treatment should be exhausted before choosing surgery. The advantage of surgery is a complete cure.
So let’s look broadly again at the options when it comes to the treatment of acid reflux.
• Proper Diet: This is the easiest and least invasive method to treat acid reflux. These really just involve a change in lifestyle by eliminating any food substances that increase the production of acid or introduce excess acid into your system. Some food stuffs to avoid are coffee, soft drinks, and certain citric fruits and vegetables. By eating well before sleeping, you can reduce the chances that acids will be introduced into your stomach. Lying down after eating anything is to be avoided.
• Physical Positioning: Elevating the upper part of the body while resting or sleeping will also lessen the introduction of acids into the stomach. By raising the head of the bed a few inches, you can reduce or eliminate the downward flow of fluids into your system.
• Drug Therapy: Prescription drugs such as famotidine and omeprazole will largely reduce the production of gastric fluids while over the counter medications such as antacid tablets can also be effective.
• Surgery: This procedure (Nissen fundoplication) is used as a last resort to allow the sphincter to operate properly, regulating the flow of waste and fluids into the intestines.
Acid Reflux Medicines
The human body has a very efficient waste management system with separate parts which nevertheless have to work together for the whole system to function properly. These parts are the oral cavity, the esophagus, the stomach, the small and large intestines, and the anus. As in any waste management system, there is intake, processing, and elimination. In the body, you could characterize 1) intake as the chewing and swallowing of food, 2) processing as the secretion of digestive fluids and absorption of the food, and 3) elimination as the expelling of the waste through the anus.
In looking at the intake aspect of this, consideration should be given to the types of materials you can ingest. As an example of some of the potentially harmful substances you can take in, the pairing of alcohol with certain types of food can give you a clue as to the manner in which the body will process and eliminate food. Although you can have a pleasant experience dining in this fashion, you may suffer acid reflux as a result. The potential of the alcohol to irritate your passage linings coupled with the spicy and often fatty foods paired with the alcohol will probably lead to some type of gastrointestinal distress. Often this is merely heartburn but in some cases involving overeating, there can be a retreat of partly digested food back into the esophagus and even the throat.
Regulating the flow of gastric juices is a muscle known as the cardiac sphincter, the opening between the stomach and the esophagus. The stomach produces acids containing pepsins which are irritants to unprotected parts of the esophagus and stomach. The cardiac sphincter muscle keeps this substance from traveling back into those areas. When the muscle fails to do its job, irritating juices flow back and create acid reflux, a burning full feeling in the chest cavity, throat, and abdomen. If not treated acid reflux can wreak havoc on the passageways.
Acid reflux reoccurs over periods of time throughout a person’s lifetime and will only grow more harmful as excess acids work on particularly vulnerable areas. Esophageal injuries, although seemingly healed, will crop up again and again, leading to more serious problems. Attention must continually be paid to this condition or it can create crippling circumstances.
In a healthy person, there is a normal amount of liquid reflux which is not harmful. Some people are prone to this liquid containing more acid than normal and suffering symptoms that are often painful. So in this case, it is not the cardiac sphincter at fault but rather the make up of the reflux liquid. Genetics can play a part in this scenario as you might be genetically predisposed to generate more pepsins in your digestive fluids.
One simple body mechanism that deals with reflux is that we spend a great deal of our time up right. This allows gravity to take effect and forces the harmful fluids back down into protected places. That most reflux occurs during the day when we are up right is a protection in itself. When awake, people swallow regularly. Part of the reflux is saliva produced by the salivary glands which are stimulated by the tasting of food. Saliva is composed of a bi-carbonate that will neutralize the acids found in the throat. It slides down the passageway and coats the lining with this protective, naturally occurring substance.
Some medications inhibit the production of pepsins while others merely cancel out the negative effects of the acids.
Acid reflux medications include histamine blockers or H2 receptor antagonists that keep the histamines from stimulating the part of the stomach that produces acids. The reduction of secretion helps to eliminate the immediate cause of acid production.
Four useful acid reflux medications are Cimetidine, introduced in 1975 that has a short window of effectiveness. The others are H2 blockers 1) Ranitidine, 2) Famotidine, and 3) Nizatidine that are more effective than Cimetidine as they have longer term effectiveness and also allow healing of existing ulcers.
Any of these NSAIDs are more effective if you take care to limit your intake of potentially harmful foods. You can eliminate the cause with a carefully chosen diet and a reduction in your stress level.
The most frequently used drug treatments are:
Antacids—Mild and occasional symptoms such as heartburn and indigestion are easily treated by these over the counter medications. As they are easily obtained without a doctor’s intervention, people use antacids to neutralize the excess acid production in the esophagus and stomach. They can also act to catalyze the natural defense mechanism of the digestive system by enabling the secretion of protective mucus in the linings of the passageways. Antacids are made up of magnesium, calcium, and aluminum which combine to counteract the acid production as well as alleviate the painful symptoms.
Acid Suppressants—Histamine blockers reduce the amount of acids by inhibiting the production of histamine that is a key factor in making stomach acids. The lessened amount of histamine corresponds to lessened amounts of acid production. These also are available without prescription and relieve symptoms when the patient has more frequent acid reflux occasions. There is a short time lapse (approximately ninety minutes) between ingestion and the drug’s effect. Their effective period lasts from six to twenty four hours depending on the brand and the severity of the symptoms. Side effects are minimal and some severe cases will require two dosages to be properly effective. Histamine blockers have also been shown to produce relief in asthma sufferers. An additional benefit has been shown by a 2001 study for sufferers of dyspepsia and heartburn.
Proton Pump Inhibitors—The stomach wall has cells that make and emit acids into the stomach to aid in digestion. Proton pump inhibitors effectively limit the amount of acids with a chemical reaction that blocks the production by these cells. However with the increased effectiveness of these inhibitors comes a series of side effects that must be considered before taking the drug. These include diarrhea, headache, itching, and nausea but thankfully they are infrequent. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should avoid these drugs and use other treatments.
Mucus Limiting Agents—These agents work by attaching themselves to the ulcerated pockets in the linings of the passageways of the esophagus and the stomach. Mucus is a protective coating that keeps excess acids from attacking vulnerable areas. This treatment is used for patients who only have mild to moderate discomfort and the side effects are minimal in this case (constipation).
Anti-Spasm Drugs—Used more rarely because spasms do not occur that frequently, these drugs (a gamma-amino acid butyric acid agonist) can be used in non-acid reflux situations to lessen the spasms of the LES that controls the passage of partially digested food between the esophagus and the stomach. In this way, the drug keeps the back flow to a minimum.
Acid Reflux Surgery
Research and anecdotal evidence have proven that acid reflux is primarily caused by poor eating habits. It affects both infants and adults although it frequently disappears in children whose digestive systems have had a chance to develop properly. Also known as Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), this condition can be painful and discomforting. Heavy eating of fatty or spicy foods seems to lead directly to the occurrence of this disease. It tends to recur over a person’s lifetime and must be treated continually with some type of medication, physical intervention, or dietary change.
Some people never fully understand what their discomfort comes from because the symptoms closely resemble those of mild indigestion or heartburn. Some people are unable to treat their symptoms because they never make the connection between their eating habits and the onset of the unpleasantness. When the stomach has to deal with a large amount of oily or spicy foods, it generates extra gastric juices which sometimes will back up into the esophagus, thus irritating the soft tissue of the passageways.
For those who recognize the disease and attempt to treat it, varying simple methods can be used such as changing their diets or even seeking medical treatment. Some, however, continue to suffer severe symptoms and have to seek more invasive methods such as surgery. These cases are the most extreme and careful consideration should be given to undergoing such a procedure. The two most prevalent surgeries are Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery, also known as Laparoscopic Nissen Fundoplication and Intraluminal Endoscopic surgery.
The most commonly prescribed procedure is the Laparoscopic anti-reflux surgery which actually tightens up the walls surrounding the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which regulates the flow of gastric juices between a person’s esophagus and his stomach. This adds pressure to the lower muscles thus reducing the likelihood that fluids will flow backwards into the esophagus. Another slightly different procedure involves tightening the esophageal valve which is the actual opening between the esophagus and the stomach. Both of these are designed to restrict the passing of gastric juices back into vulnerable areas.
The most preferred surgery involves the most rapid recovery time and the least invasive is Intraluminal Endoscopic acid reflux surgery. In this, a small optical tube is inserted into the esophagus so that the surgeon can actually see the positioning of the LES and make small incisions where needed. Other conditions of the digestive system can be observed and dealt with at the same time. There is less risk and more potential reward for the patient as the recovery time is minimal (probably done as out patient surgery). The most attractive aspect of reflux surgery is the prospect of completely curing the condition. Most patients would prefer to undergo such a quick and simple procedure that nearly guarantees success rather than the postponing of the symptoms by most drug and home treatment plans.
All of the advanced and knowledgeable treatment plans are making it easier for people to recognize the disease and deal with it successfully. Because the surgeries are so simple and efficient, more medium to severe acid reflux cases opting for the surgery are being seen all over the country.
ACID REFLUX * CAUSES * SYMPTOMS OF ACID REFLUX * ADULT ACID REFLUX * ACID REFLUX AND PREGNANCY * ASTHMA AND ACID REFLUX * ACID REFLUX AND SORE THROATS * ACID REFLUX IN CHILDREN * ACID REFLUX IN BABIES * ACID REFLUX TREATMENT * ACID REFLUX NATURAL CURES