Title:
Acid Reflux - Is It Just Indigestion?
Word Count:
521
Summary:
Acid reflux or indigestion. We all get it. Maybe we’ve eaten too much or
too late in the evening. Maybe we’ve drunk too much alcohol at that party
the night before. We could have bent down to do a bit of weeding too soon
after a meal and oops, that pain in the middle of the chest can be quite
severe.
Keywords:
acid reflux
Article Body:
What is acid reflux though?
It is the liquid in the stomach regurgitating into the oesophagus
(gullet). Much of this liquid is acid produced in the stomach which is
harmful to the walls of the oesophagus. Reflux happens to most people but
because we spend much of our time upright, gravity ensures that the
liquid returns to the stomach unnoticed. In addition, we swallow
frequently which again returns regurgitated liquid to the stomach and
saliva contains bicarbonate which helps to neutralise the acid in the
stomach liquid.
It doesn’t do to ignore repeated instances of painful indigestion though,
as it could be symptomatic of something much more serious. That refluxing
acid can cause lasting damage to the lining of the oesophagus, which, if
left untreated, can lead to other conditions.
A friend relates that when she was a child, her father was always chewing
on Rennies, a well known antacid in the UK. He used to say that a good
belch would cure the indigestion. It later turned out that he had a
stomach ulcer. Despite that, when my friend, in turn, started suffering
from frequent indigestion, she too chewed on the Rennies and went about
her business.
Eventually, she realised that the extent of the indigestion couldn’t be
normal so she consulted her doctor who referred her to a specialist for
an endoscopy.
An endoscopy is a procedure whereby an endoscope, a thin, lighted tube,
is inserted down the throat. The endoscope transmits images of the
oesophagus, stomach, and duodenum, enabling the specialist to identify
problem areas and, if necessary, obtain biopsies. The endoscope is
usually inserted while the patient is under sedation thus avoiding the
gagging reflex.
To return to my friend, a hiatus hernia was diagnosed. A hiatus hernia
occurs when the upper part of the stomach pushes through the opening in
the diaphragm where the oesophagus connects with the stomach, allowing
the acid from the stomach to reflux. Fortunately, this was a small hiatus
hernia, which could be easily treated with a course of medication.
A couple of years went by with only minor instances of indigestion, then
my friend started to experience occasional bouts of very severe heartburn
and sickness which she treated with the usual array of antacid
preparations. Suddenly, one day she woke up with a severe pain in her
lower stomach which didn’t respond to the usual remedies and in any
event, didn’t resemble any of the normal symptoms of acid reflux.
A visit to the doctor and my friend found herself hospitalised for tests
which revealed that the original small hiatus hernia was larger and
bleeding and had lead to gastritis (inflammation of the stomach lining)
and duodenitis (inflammation of the duodenum), both caused by an
infection with the Helicobacter pylori bacteria. This bacteria is
extremely common, thought to infect 70% of the world’s population,
although most people do not display any symptoms of the infection.
The moral of this story is “Don’t ignore persistent acid reflux, it may
be much more that just indigestion”.
Watch out for my next article on the treatment of acid reflux.