GERD Pain

GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. It is also known as acid reflux disease. This disease mainly affects the stomach, esophagus and larynx. In the normal digestion process, the food we eat goes down to the stomach through the esophagus or food pipe. From there, the food moves into the digestive tract. At the point where the lower part of the esophagus meets the stomach, a band of muscles called esophageal sphincter is present, which act like a flap and keeps the food contents inside the stomach only. Due to some reasons, if these muscles get relaxed or weakened, then the flap opens up and allows the stomach acid and food to flow back into the esophagus and causes acid reflux disease. GERD pain is a chronic kind of pain and can be felt in various parts of the body. The exact cause of GERD is not exactly known. However, certain conditions like intake of spicy or fatty foods, obesity, pregnancy, hiatal hernia, smoking, etc., are some of the cause that tend to aggravate the symptoms of GERD.

Symptoms of GERD

The most common symptom of this health condition is pain. Most people complain about GERD pain during the night after lying down. Others may get it after eating a heavy meal or fatty meal. Initially, it starts as a GERD abdominal pain and is felt in the upper part of the abdomen. As the stomach acid travel up the esophagus, it causes a burning sensation in the lining of the esophagus. This pain is often described as GERD chest pain. It has a lot of similarity with the symptoms of heart attack. Like in the case of heart attack, this pain is centered at the middle of the chest and gives a tight feeling in the chest. Similarly, the pain soon moves on to the arms and other parts. If you are getting GERD chest pain, it is essential that you confirm with your doctor that it is not caused due to some cardiac problems.

There are various causes of back pain and GERD is one of them. Most often, the pain felt in the chest extends to the back and gives a localized back pain that can get spread from the neck to the lower back region. The characteristic of GERD back pain is that it is not the usual burning pain but its sharp and exerts a pressure like sensation on the back. Pain is accompanied by other symptoms are nausea, sore throat, hoarseness, trouble in swallowing, coughing, wheezing, regurgitation, acid taste in mouth, etc.

GERD Pain Relief

Usually, GERD pain lasts for two or three hours and in some serious cases it may continue for longer hours. It tends to recur from time to time. If you get intense pain repeatedly or it lasts for a long time, you should consult your doctor. To get relief from the pain, doctors prescribe medicines to treat the underlying disease. The common types of medicines that are used for the treatment of GERD are antacids, proton pump inhibitors and H-2-receptor blockers. Sometimes, medicines are prescribed to tighten the lower esophageal sphincter. If the medicines fail to bring relief and extensive damage has been caused to the esophagus, then surgery may be required to repair the stomach sphincter. When the pain is mild then you can try some acid reflux alternative treatment.

Recurrence of pain can be prevented with the help of changes in lifestyle and following the GERD diet. Any kind of acidic foods, fried or fatty foods, has to be excluded from the diet. Instead of large meals, smaller meals has to be taken to avoid GERD pain. Eat your dinner two hours before bedtime. If you get GERD pain at night very frequently, sleep with your head raised up to six inches with pillows. This will prevent the acid to move up. Those who smoke or drink alcohol have to quit these habits.