What is acid reflux? Technically, acid reflux occurs when the stomach ejects its contents back to our esophagus due to our lower esophageal sphincter not being closed properly. However, how would you know if you are suffering from acid reflux or not? Simple. If you are unable to sleep at night and always feel a burning sensation either in your throat or chest, then you, my friend, ARE suffering from acid reflux. Also, when you have acid reflux, you would feel that the burning sensation starts in your chest and is then passed on to your throat, whereby you feel a bitter acidic taste in your mouth. While acid reflux gets worse when one sleeps, it can also occur immediately after you had your meal. In this article I will tell you how to get rid of this acid reflux once and for all.
Acid reflux is perhaps as common as say, common cold. Did you know that at least twenty-five million adults suffer from it daily? Or that as many as sixty million people suffer from heartburn as least once every thirty days? As you can see, you are not alone in this. Since this disease is so widespread, you should also understand that there are a lot of different types of medications available for this disease, and that not all of them may be suitable for you or can work equally well for you. If you are not sure about which medication to pick, you should consult with a qualified doctor first.
With that said, here are the five acid reflux treatments outlined for you:
Treatment Method#1: Antacids: What is common between Maalox, Tums, Milk of Magnesium or Alka-Seltzer? Well, they are all antacids and all of them can cure your acid reflux problem, albeit in varying degrees. Antacids are commonly used to reduce and neutralize the acid in your stomach so that when you have a reflux next time it won’t contain any kind of acid; as such, neither your chest nor throat will burn. However, antacids get emptied from the stomach all too fast and needless to say that when they are gone from your stomach, the stomach acid returns with a vengeance. As you can see, while antacids can be a quick fix for stomach acidity, they are certainly not a very permanent solution.
Treatment Method #2: Foaming agents: Have you heard about Gaviscon? It is a foaming agent designed to keep your acid reflux away by covering your stomach’s contents with a kind of foam. For best results, you should not use this treatment method alone; experts recommend that it should be used simultaneously with another acid reflux treatment method.
Treatment Method#3: H2 Blockers: Histamine is a compound that stimulates the acid producing ells of our stomach; in other words, it stimulates gastric secretions in our body. H2 blockers or histamine blockers offer you relief from acid reflux symptoms by blocking this very histamine receptor (type 2); the bad news is that it doesn’t relieve you from the heartburn and throat irritation that usually follows an acid reflux. For best results you should take these blockers at least half-an-hour before meal. Although these drugs are available over-the-counter, the prescription-based drugs have much higher dosages. If you believe that the OTC version is not working for you, visit a doctor for help.
Treatment Method #4: Proton Pump Inhibitors: If you want something more potent than H2 Blockers, then the Proton Pump Inhibitors are for you. These inhibitors not only serve the function of H2 blockers but also relieve you of heartburn and throat inflammation which often follows an acid reflux. The disadvantage is that this drug is usually not available over-the-counter; you got to meet a doctor to get it. On another note, doctors often suggest that patients should take both Proton Pump Inhibitors as well as H2 Blockers for best results.
Treatment Method #5: Enteryx: If none of the above treatments work for you and you don’t want to go under the knife either, then your only other option is to go for an endoscopy in order to increase the strength of your Lower Esophageal Sphincter so that the stomach acid no longer gets refluxed back to your esophagus. Under this procedure, an implant called Enteryx is injected into the body. This acid reflux treatment has recently been approved by the FDA so you can be rest assured that it is safe. If you need more information on how to cure acid reflux, [adrotate banner=”6″]