PT Health Life- Gastroesophageal reflux is a quite common disease, the number of people suffering from this disease is increasing. The disease occurs in all ages, even young children and the elderly. This is a disease that easily recurs, so you need to be careful when you have this disease.
1. What is gastroesophageal reflux?
Gastric reflux is also known as esophageal reflux. They are considered one of the most common stomach problems. This phenomenon is understood as a condition in which fluid (sometimes including food) in the body’s stomach appears to reflux into the esophagus, causing many different symptoms.
2. Causes of gastroesophageal reflux
There are many theories about the cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease, which focus mainly on a number of factors such as:
– Due to weak gastric -cardiac valve (irregularly opening and closing, or not closing tightly) causing gastric juice to reflux into the esophagus
– Due to the weak function of the esophageal contractile muscles (many cases of gastroesophageal reflux are due to congenitally weak esophageal contractile muscles, common in pediatric patients and the elderly).
– Because the amount of mucus that protects the esophageal mucosa decreases due to esophageal ulcers.
– Besides, there may be a reason (chronic inflammation of the salivary glands or advanced age…) that causes the amount of saliva to decrease (because saliva is alkaline so it helps neutralize and wash away the saliva). reduce stomach acid).
– Some cases may be due to an excess of hydrochloric acid (HCl) and digestive enzymes in the stomach or due to stagnation in the digestive process, allowing food to stagnate in the stomach for a long time ( Pyloric stenosis, gastric tumor, gastric prolapse…).
– In addition, obesity, gastric hernia through the esophageal gap, some pregnant women, smoking, alcohol addiction, some spicy spices, and too hot food will aggravate reflux syndrome. gastroesophageal reflux.
3. Symptoms of the disease
With gastroesophageal reflux disease, symptoms often appear after eating or at night.
– The most common symptom is belching (belching, heartburn, heartburn). Burping frequently even when hungry or without drinking anything. Heartburn is a burning feeling from the stomach or lower chest area, spreading up to the neck, sometimes reaching the lower throat and ears, accompanied by a sour taste in the mouth (due to stomach fluid refluxing into the esophagus). contact with the esophageal mucosa causing a hot, burning sensation).
Heartburn occurs most often in the morning (especially when brushing teeth). Burping symptoms often increase immediately after eating a full meal, bloating, indigestion or after drinking wine, beer or sour drinks (sour soup, lemonade…) or when bending forward or lying down.
– Patients may experience nausea and vomiting, which often occurs when they eat too much or lie down immediately after eating. The reason is that the substances that reflux into the esophagus are not only gas and digestive fluids but also food, causing the patient to feel sick. feeling of nausea, vomiting.
– Patients may experience pain and chest tightness (rate of about 40 – 45%) due to pain in the esophagus running through the chest because when acid in the stomach fluid refluxes into the esophagus, it stimulates the nerve fiber endings, causing feeling of pain in the chest area. At this time, the patient has a feeling of tightness in the chest, pressure, spreading to the back and arms, making the patient very worried, thinking it is a cardiovascular or lung disease.
– In addition, gastroesophageal reflux disease also has symptoms such as bitter mouth, difficulty swallowing, feeling of stuck in the throat, hoarseness, sore throat, bad breath, hiccups, especially dry cough that lasts for an unknown period of time. reason.
– In children, gastroesophageal reflux often shows signs of vomiting, and the vomit has the sour smell of gastric juice. Less common symptoms are wheezing, loss of appetite, slow growth, and possibly respiratory infections.
Symptoms are reduced when patients use antacids such as Gastropulgit, Asigastrogit… or drugs that reduce acid secretion such as Omeprazone (especially Nexium injection), Ranitidine…
To diagnose, in addition to clinical manifestations, gastroesophageal endoscopy and biopsy are needed to evaluate the mucosal condition and test gastric juice.
4. Complications of gastroesophageal reflux
Gastroesophageal reflux easily leads to esophageal ulcers. If severe and prolonged, it can narrow the esophagus (esophageal ulcers can also cause bleeding). The disease lasts for a long time, causing the esophageal mucosa to change and possibly turn into cancer.
In some patients, especially children and the elderly, pneumonia can occur due to aspiration of fluid that refluxes into the airways.
5. Principles of treatment of gastroesophageal reflux syndrome
When you have chest pain, belching or acidity (for adults), vomiting in young children, slow growth, etc., you need to go for a check-up at a reliable medical facility to determine the disease. When diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux syndrome, it is necessary to treat according to the doctor’s instructions and follow the advice of the doctor examining you or your family members. Patients should not arbitrarily buy medicine to treat the condition. Treat yourself or your family members (especially children) without medical knowledge.
For adults, in principle, it is possible to use proton pump inhibitor (PPI) antisecretory drugs prescribed by a doctor such as Omeprazon, Lansoprazole or use histamine H2 receptor antagonists (Ranitidine…), preservatives. covering the lining of the esophagus and stomach (Gastropulgit…). What medicine is appropriate for each patient can only be determined by the doctor who examined him (or his family member), even if the acute illness requires injection of PPI (Nexium…).
Some authors advise that in mild cases, drugs that increase the tone of the lower esophageal sphincter can be used such as Metoclopramide or Antacids, Alginic Acid… Regarding this, the doctor examining each specific patient will consider whether should use or not.
Surgery can be performed (very rarely) when there is no response or poor response to medical treatment (medication).
6. What should you pay attention to when suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease?
The patient or the patient’s family should note that because gastroesophageal reflux disease can easily recur, the treating doctor often advises the patient to have maintenance treatment after the attack treatment or to take medication when symptoms appear. Symptoms recur, so you need to be re-examined (re-examined) at the request of the treating doctor.
Patients should note that after eating, they should not lie down immediately but should sit (drink water, watch TV, read books, newspapers, etc.) and it is best to sit in a half-lying, half-sitting position.
This disease also requires abstaining from alcohol, beer, sour drinks (lemonade, melon soup…), sour and spicy spices…
How you sleep also has a great impact on preventing gastroesophageal reflux, so you can adjust your sleeping position by sleeping on your left side. When sleeping, you should have a pillow to raise your head (the pillow should be moderately high, not too high).
