Living with and Managing GERD
GERD is a condition which has a negative impact on thousands of patients diagnosed with the condition each year. Fortunately, there are a number of ways in which one can manage the condition to make life that bit easier, and reduce the pains associated with the disease. The type of approach used depends mainly on the seriousness of the condition for the individual patient, and whether or not there are any more serious complications present.
For mild infrequent symptoms, such as heartburn, one of the best ways to manage the condition is through simple lifestyle changes, such as altering the diet to cut out acidic, fatty and spicy foods and giving up smoking. If these lifestyle changes prove to be ineffective, there are a number of antacid medications which serve to neutralise the acidic content of the stomach to make the reflux less uncomfortable. If these measures do not fully solve the problem, it's a good idea to consult your doctor to find out more about the other ways you can tackle the condition.
If you have no symptoms of further complications such as lung problems, an acid-suppressing therapeutic trial combined with histamine antagonists can be used to good effect to dampen down the production of acid within the stomach and ensure there are no deeper rooted problems. If there are no further symptoms, a treatment can be maintain to ensure longer term relief for the symptoms of GERD.
If there is a suggestion of further problems or complications arising from the ineffectiveness of this medication, an endoscopy can be used to get a closer look at the internals. This could uncover any damage to the oesophagus, including ulcers and inflammation, which can then be specifically targeted.
If the symptoms do not subside with treatment for more specific complications, you are faced with two further options. One option is to consider the 24 hour ph testing method, or add additional drugs to the mixture, such as pro-motility drugs, to try and combat the effects of the acid reflux. If all else fails, there is the option of surgery. Although highly effective with long term results for the majority of patients, surgery to help your acid reflux complaint carries risks of complications and side effects which should be fully considered before deciding in favour of the procedure.
Living with GERD can be problematic for even the best of us. Its important as a starter to avoid eating those foods which are known to increase acid production, or are acidic in their nature, as well as avoiding any particular foods you feel disagree with you. It is also a good idea to maintain an overall balanced diet, in connection with some mild, general exercise. It shouldn't be the end of the world, and acid reflux doesn't mean you'll have to give up partying or drinking alcohol, but you should definitely give up smoking. Not only is this a good idea for curbing your symptoms, but it's also an ideal excuse to kick the habit which costs you money and your overall health in the longer term.
Acid reflux news on the Web
Precancerous Condition Associated With Reflux Disease Triggered By Bile - Not Acid
For many people with gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD, acid reflux drugs are the answer to their woes, curbing the chronic heartburn and regurgitation of food or sour liquid characteristic of the disorder. But when it comes to Barrett's esophagus, a condition commonly found in people with GERD, acid control may be less important than beating back another bodily fluid - bile... |
New GERD Device Offered At Mayo Clinic
A new device to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a condition that can lead to serious health problems, will soon be available at the Mayo Clinic in Florida. The device will be offered to patients taking medication for the condition, who continue to have chronic reflux symptoms. The device was approved to treat GERD (also known as acid reflux disease) on March 22 by the U.S... |
Acid Reflux 50% More Common Than Ten Years Ago
A long-term Norwegian study reveals the number of people who experience acid reflux at least once a week has gone up by nearly 50% in the last 10 years, with women appearing to be more susceptible to the condition than men... |
Prescribing Acid-Suppressing Drugs To Infants
Frequent spitting up, irritability, and unexplained crying in infants can be very distressing to parents. Pediatricians often prescribe acid-suppressing drugs for these symptoms in an effort to treat infants for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); however, GERD is an uncommon cause of these symptoms in otherwise thriving infants... |
Prescribing Of Acid-suppressing Medication For Infants Rises Considerably
Infants who are frequently spitting up, irritable, and cry for unknown reasons can be extremely worrying for parents. The infants are often prescribed with acid-suppressing drugs by their pediatricians in an attempt to treat them for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) but in otherwise thriving infants GERD is not a common cause of these symptoms... |
Acid-Suppressing Drugs Being Over Prescribed In Infants
Frequent spitting up, irritability and unexplained crying in infants are often very distressing to parents. Physicians frequently prescribe acid-suppressing drugs for these symptoms. However, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is an uncommon cause of these symptoms in otherwise thriving infants, and in his Commentary published in the October 20th issue of The Journal of Pediatrics, Dr... |
GERD Treatments, Benefits And Risks - New Report
New plain-language reports compare the risks and benefits of therapies for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a digestive condition that affects millions of individuals in the U.S., and can be treated with medications or surgery. The reports are from the U.S... |
Proton Pump Inhibitors Should Have Black-box Warnings, Group Tell FDA
Withdrawal from PPIs (proton pump inhibitors) can lead to severe rebound acid secretion, a complication that can force users to become dependent on them - this should be mentioned in a black-box warning, consumer group Public Citizen has told the FDA (Food and Drug Administration)... |
Leftover Embryonic Cells Connect Gastric Reflux And Cancer
The ultimate source of some cancers is embryonic cells. Research published in the June 24th Cell, a Cell Press publication, traces the precursor of deadly esophageal cancers to leftover embryonic cells found in all adults. Some people with gastric reflux disease have a greater risk of developing esophageal cancer... |
Homing In On Genetic Signature Of Esophageal Cancer
University of Rochester Medical Center researchers have pinpointed two genes that are amplified in the worst cases of esophageal cancer, providing data to support a new investigational treatment that targets those same genes. The study, led by Tony Godfrey, Ph.D., a research associate professor of Surgery at the James P... |
News From The Annals Of Family Medicine, May/June
Acid-Suppressing Proton Pump Inhibitors Associated with Fracture Risk A meta-analysis of previous research into an unintended effect of acid suppression medications - some of the most widely used medications in the world - finds evidence that long-term use of proton pump inhibitors, but not H2-receptor antagonists, is associated with increased risk of fracture... |
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