Acid reflux is a very common condition that causes acid from your stomach to flow back up into your oesophagus and towards your mouth. People suffering from acid reflux normally experience high levels of discomfort and pain due to this problem. The acid itself can also cause damage to the tissue in the throat; stomach acid being extremely acidic and capable of corroding most metals. Serious cases of acid reflux can actually be life threatening - but only when left untreated for many, many years.
The common name acid reflux (or heartburn) is just a laymans name for Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD for short) but most people find it easier to explain and pronounce acid reflux than the rather long winded Gastro Oesophageal Reflux Disease
To get a better understanding of what causes this condition you need to know just what happens in the whole acid reflux process. First off you need to take some hydrochloric acid which the human stomach can hold without any problems. Next you need to add in some pepsin which is an enzyme that breaks the chunks of food in your stomach into tiny little pieces. Finally we need to add some bile which is the liquid in your stomach used to ease the whole digestion process. Just a quick note - very few people actually have bile in their reflux. Actually the bile and the pepsin have almost nothing to do with the damage which can be caused - it's the gastric acid which is the main culprit here. Hence the name acid reflux.
People who suffer from acid reflux tend to have their strongest attacks at night. This is because the body is laying flat and it is much, much easier for acid to flow up the oesophagus when your body is in this position. The last thing anybody needs to be dealing with when they're half asleep is acid reflux and waking up to a mouth full of gastric acid or worse.
What's even stranger is that many people can have bouts of acid reflux during the day without noticing - it happens in such a small way that few people pay attention to it. What happens is that acid comes up into the oesphagus and then goes straight back into the stomach. What you'll get is a taste in the back of your throat which is similar to vomiting but without actually getting sick fully.
Pregnant women are especially prone to suffering from acid reflux. This is because of fluctuating hormone levels and the strange position of the abdomen due to the baby growing inside the womb. These changes in body physiology and chemistry combine to give women the extra burden of heartburn during pregnancy. Crazy eh?
Most pharmacies can sell you a variety of things to deal with your acid reflux problem. This could be everything from a standard antacid to something like Protonix or Prilosec. If you have continual problems with acid reflux then you should contact a doctor as certain conditions can arise from constant acid damage to your esophagus and some can cause permanent harm.
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