This common and often ignored disease might be deadier than u thought:-
GERD
= Gastroesophageal [url=http://www.indigestion.net]reflux[/url] Disease
10 things you should know about GERD
1. Why does it happen?
Gastroesophageal [url=http://www.indigestion.net]reflux[/url] Disease occurs because the muscular valve at the bottom of the oesophagus (lower oesophageal sphincter – LES) fails to work properly. The LES normally keeps stomach acid out of the oesophagus. However, in GERD, the LES relaxes and allows stomach contents to flow up into the oesophagus and cause pain, inflammation and sometimes corrosion or ulceration.
2. How common is it?
It is on the rise. In Singapore, the prevalence of heartburn and/or acid regurgitation (most common symptoms of GERD) in the general population rose from 1.6 per cent in 1994 to 9.9 per cent in 2000. As GERD symptoms are often mistaken for chest pain, the actual prevalence is likely to be higher.
3. Who can get it?
GERD affects people of every socio-economic class, ethnic group and age. However, the incidence seems to increase quite dramatically above the age of 40.
4. What are the symptoms?
While GERD is non-fatal, patients frequently suffer a range of debilitating symptoms, including chest pains, heartburn, ulcers, bleeding, inflammation and scarring in the oesophagus, acid regurgitation and a feeling of acidity in stomach. Patients may experience chest pain that is similar to those suffering from heart disease. So, it is important to consult a doctor to eliminate heart disease as a causative factor of the symptoms. Research has also shown that GERD sufferers tend to be more anxious, are more easily depressed and report sick for work more frequently.
5. Is there a difference between heartburn and GERD?
Heartburn is often described as a feeling of burning discomfort behind the breastbone that moves up towards the neck and throat. GERD is a disease and heartburn is its most common symptom. Frequent heartburn that disrupts one's quality of life suggests a diagnosis of GERD.
6. What causes GERD?
There is no conclusive evidence pointing to the possible causes of GERD, although studies indicate that eating certain foods (eg. curry, oily foods, etc) can cause acid to back upwards. Stress may also be a factor. Bear in mind, though, that with GERD, the problem is not so much with the acid but with the sphincter that is not working well and thus is unable to prevent the up-flow of stomach acid into the oesophagus.
7. How is it diagnosed?
The most commonly used diagnostic tools are endoscopy, 24-hour oesophageal pH monitoring and oesophageal manometry. But these are invasive, costly and probably not available at your family doctor. The proton pump inhibitor (PPI) test, on the other hand, offers an attractive alternative for doctors and its sensitivity is high.
8. How is GERD treated?
Heartburn and GERD have physical causes and are rarely curtailed by lifestyle modifications alone. GERD sufferers need medicine to alleviate their symptoms, but these often do not cure it. Also [url=http://www.indigestion.net]reflux[/url] usually recurs if treatment is stopped. So, continuing medication is usually necessary to prevent recurrent or chronic GERD.
The latest treatment for GERD is a PPI. Stomach acid helps digest food. The lining of the stomach contains millions of specialised cells that produce acid via 'proton pumps'. PPIs turn off some of the 'proton' or acid pumps.
By reducing acid production in the stomach, PPIs reduce the chance of acid backing up into the oesophagus.
9. Can GERD be prevented?
GERD can be prevented through its symptoms of heartburn, chest pains, sore-throat, sinusitis, asthma, etc. Nonetheless, many often self-treat wrongly due to a lack of awareness of the disease. They obtain the wrong treatment because they cannot describe the symptoms to their doctor.
10. Are there complications?
Since the oesophageal lining is delicate, persistent and prolonged exposure to stomach acid may cause inflammation, ulcers, bleeding and scarring leading to obstruction. A pre-cancerous condition called Barrett's oesophagus may also occur. It is caused when the body tries to protect the oesophagus from acid by replacing its normal lining with cells that are similar to the lining of the intestine.