Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Chances are you that you’ve heard of Gastroesophageal Reflux
Disease and know it better by its abbreviation, GERD.  Like
Nighttime Heartburn, this is another, more serious type of
heartburn, since it can often lead to various complications and
other diseases. I’ve explained these in more detail in the chapter
‘Complications’.
And just so that you’re aware of the severity of this type of
heartburn, you should know that GERD is much more than just
heartburn. If you have GERD, the heartburn you suffer from
could be just one more symptom in a list of many others
contributing to this condition.

One of the best ways to find out whether you have GERD is the
frequency of your heartburn attacks. If you suffer regularly, and
more than once or twice a week, then there is a good chance
that you’re suffering from GERD, and not just simple heartburn.
You should also know that these attacks tend to be severe in
their intensity, and also tend to last at least a few hours, if not
days.

If left untreated for a long period of time, GERD can also be
identified by these additional symptoms, such as experiencing
pain, or difficulty in swallowing. It can also lead to many oral
problems such as gingivitis, tooth enamel decay and halitosis.
Moreover, it can also lead to throat problems such as laryngitis,
and hoarseness, as well as a sore throat.  And if this isn’t
enough, it can cause pulmonary symptoms such as interstitial
fibrosis, wheezing and asthma.

All of these symptoms are primarily due to the increased amount
of time the stomach acids reside within the esophagus, combined
with the intensity of each heartburn attack.

If you’re wondering whether you’re likely to develop GERD, let
me tell you that you’re as likely to get it as the next person.
There is no hard and fast rule stating that such and such a
person will get GERD. There are however, statistics to back up
conclusions, but that is in effect all they really are, not definitive
conclusions.

In short what they say is that, any person can develop the GERD
type of heartburn, although there is more chance of your
developing it if you are aged 40 or over. It is however, quite a
common type of heartburn, and more people suffer from it than
are aware of it. Surprisingly enough, most of the people who
suffer from it, do nothing to improve their condition by seeking
treatment.

GERD is a very real disease and should be thought of as such. It
should be noted here that GERD can also be treated effectively
with natural remedies as well as with pharmaceutical medicines.
In later chapters we will look at what you can do to combat
GERD in a natural way.

To find out if what you have is GERD, you will need to see your
doctor, as there are a number of medical tests that will need to
be carried out before you can be fully diagnosed. If you’re
interested in doing this, the types of tests that you can look
forward to tend to be endoscopic or histological in nature.
The endoscopy test, depending upon how your doctor decides to
carry it out, may be uncomfortable and you may or may not be
sedated. Basically, a narrow tube will be inserted into your body,
usually via your mouth, in order for your stomach and
esophagus lining to be examined in situ.

The histology test can also be uncomfortable, as a sample of the
tissues and cells from the lining of your stomach, and sometimes
even your esophagus, will need to be removed in order to be
examined under a microscope by specialists.

If you think that your heartburn could be one of the symptoms of
GERD, then you should really consult your doctor as soon as
possible, as there are many of options available to ease your
suffering.
Copyright 2006 by home-remedies-for-heartburn.com
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