Gerd Symptoms

During a reflux, all those natural digestive components as well as bits of previously eaten food are introduced to an area of the body that is not designed to contain or handle them. Due to the fact that the esophagus was not built to handle those digestive juices found lower in the digestive tract, pain and discomfort in the form of heartburn is felt by the person.

GERD falls under the chronic condition category and once someone is afflicted with it, they may have to endure it for the whole duration of their life.  More so if there is greater damage to the esophageal lining.  This greater damage to the esophageal lining is a condition known as esophagitis and also falls under the chronic condition category.  If people stop treatment for GERD after the esophagus has healed, chances are, it will occur again and the process will start all over.  Typically, the injury will reoccur within a few months from the time the treatment is stopped.  Therefore, if people need treatment because of the damage, they most likely will have to stick to the treatment more strictly than people who have no esophagitis. 

The contents of the stomach refluxing into the esophagus can and will happen to anyone, but are not as bad as people with GERD.  New studies and  reports have even suggested that reflux appears just as frequently in a normal person compared to the person who has been diagnosed with GERD. 

The only difference between the two groups however, is the fact people who have GERD will feel the acid reflux more because the contents will contain more acid and the acid will remain in the esophagus longer.  It has been determined that liquid refluxes in people with GERD will be of a higher acidic level than the people without GERD.

 

The body normally has natural ways of battling the effects of reflux and acid in the esophagus.  When individuals are upright, the reflux is least likely to occur as gravity will draw the contents back downward to the stomach.  As a natural defense mechanism, individuals will repetitively swallow regardless of whether the presence of reflux is apparent.  With each and every swallow a person makes, the contents of the reflux will go back down to the belly due to the process of peristalsis.  Also acting as a natural way to combat acid reflux, saliva created by the salivary glands in the mouth contains bicarbonate which is basic. Saliva that contains bicarbonate will stream down to the esophagus with each swallow.  Simple chemistry will tell that when you mix an acidic and a basic substance, they will be neutralized. So the acid that lingers in the esophagus due to reflux will be neutralized by the bicarbonate after swallowing and gravity and peristalsis moves the liquid back down to the stomach.

The laws of gravity and nature play crucial roles in the maintenance of homeostasis (internal stability) of the esophagus.  Typically, they go hand-in-hand in preventing or making acid reflux more tolerable when the body is upright during the day time.  While keeping that fact in mind, night time is understandably the time when most people will experience acid reflux. When a person lies down or sleeps, acid which enter the esophagus due to reflux will remain in the esophagus for an extensive period of time and can cause bigger harm to the esophagus. Thankfully, this caveat can easily be countered by simply raising the head of bed.

Variable circumstances and conditions or a combination of the two make a person vulnerable to GERD.  For instance, obesity and/or pregnancy increase the risk of getting GERD.  In pregnancy, the pressure in the lower esophageal sphincter is reduced because of the prominent hormone levels and because of reduced lower esophageal sphincter pressure, the liquid content of the stomach can easily back flow to the esophagus.  Also, the fetus which is growing will also elevate the pressure in the abdomen which exerts a squeezing action to the stomach, making acid reflux much more likely.