HEALTH - What's the difference between heartburn and acid reflux?

by Tom Scheve

Sometimes after you eat, you might experience a painful, burning sensation in your chest. It feels like someone has run a knife through you just beneath the sternum and is taking their time twisting it around.

Although it can feel like your heart is being squeezed in the palm of a giant, what you're feeling is actually the result of what happens when contents of the stomach -- recently swallowed foods and liquids, bile and stomach acid -- climb up the esophagus.

When food enters your mouth, digestion begins. Saliva begins to break down the starch contained in your food into smaller molecules. Food is then carried down the esophagus into the stomach, where glands in the lining of the stomach create more digestive products, one of which is stomach acid.

The esophagus is a long tube (about 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) long for adults) that connects your throat to your stomach. When you swallow food, you start a wavelike motion in the muscles that line the esophagus, and this motion carries food down toward your stomach. When food reaches the end of your esophagus, it must pass through a ring of muscle -- the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) -- in order to reach the stomach. When objects approach the LES from above, this valve opens inward to allow entry into the stomach. Once the objects have passed through the valve, the valve closes, and pressure exerted on the valve from the stomach only further seals the one-way valve. However, not all valves function perfectly all the time (or, in some cases, at all).

Sometimes, due to a malfunctioning LES, acid reflux and heartburn occur. How does this happen? And aren't acid reflux and heartburn the same thing? (No.)

Heartburn and Acid Reflux: Like Fire and Smoke

Some LESs don't form a tight seal when closed, and others will relax randomly when there is still work to be done. When the LES relaxes with food still in the stomach, pressure from the fullness of the stomach, physical movement or even tight-fitting clothes can force the contents back up through the relaxed valve into your esophagus.

Although used interchangeably, there is a difference between heartburn and acid reflux. So let's clear this up:

• Acid reflux occurs when stomach acid regurgitates up into the esophagus. Reflux is the cause of heartburn. However, you may feel no pain at all when reflux occurs.
• Heartburn is a sensation of tightness, pain or discomfort in the middle of the chest that can -- but doesn't always -- follow an occurrence of acid reflux. Heartburn is exactly what it would feel like if acid ate away at the lining of your esophagus, because that's what's happening.

While you can and do likely have occasional bouts of acid reflux without heartburn, you can't have heartburn without acid reflux. Acid reflux is the cause, and heartburn is a potential sensation. Reflux: the fire; heartburn: the smoke. The pain of heartburn is the irritation or damage taking place to your esophagus by the refluxed stomach acid.

If you have frequent acid reflux, you may have acid reflux disease. Acid reflux disease andgastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are the same thing. Both terms refer to a chronic condition relating to the LES and exacerbated by lifestyle factors, such as obesity, consumption of acidic foods, smoking and eating large portions during a single meal.

Have more questions about heartburn, GERD and the digestive system? See the next page for answers.

Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/

ACID REFLUX - What is it?

Acid reflux occurs when the valve that separates your 

stomach from your esophagus doesn't function properly.

Acid reflux is the action of your stomach acid moving upwards and giving you heartburn. It is often associated with lifestyle habits such as overeating, smoking and alcohol use but may also point to more serious conditions such as ulcers and hiatus hernia.

Most people have had acid reflex and on most occasions it goes away by itself. But persistent acid reflux should be addressed as it can lead to other problems including asthma, permanent scaring of the esophagus and even cancer.

Acid Reflux is also more common during pregnancy and children and infants in particular are susceptible to it.

Treatment options are usually successful and involve changes to diet and ongoing medication.

Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/

ACID REFLUX - Symptoms of Acid Reflux

Acid reflux occurs when the the valve that separates your stomach from 

your esophagus doesn't function properly and the strong stomach acids 

seep up and burn the soft skin of the esophagus (that's heartburn).

Besides heartburn, acid reflux can also cause the following symptoms:

• Asthma - because the gastric juices seep upwards into the throat, mouth and air passages of the lungs.
• Chest pain - part of the heartburn sensation
• Dental erosion
• Dysphagia - difficulty swallowing
• Hoarseness
• Regurgitation - bringing food back up into the mouth

In children, especially those too young to speak, these symptoms may also indicate acid reflux:

• Abdominal pain above the belly button
• Extreme pickiness about foods or refusing food
• Eating only a few bites despite hunger
• Gagging or choking
• Poor weight gain or weight loss
• Bad breath
• Constantly runny nose
• Frequent sore throat
• Sinus infections
• Nighttime or nagging dry cough
• Poor sleep, frequent waking

Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/

ACID REFLUX - How to prevent Acid Reflux

The majority of people with acid reflux get better 

if they make some changes to their diet.

Some foods are safe for heartburn sufferers, while others are major triggers of it. However some people will get acid reflux irrespective of what they eat. It would be easy to say that there is a reflux diet. Unfortunately, we all react differently to different foods.

Foods/drinks that commonly cause acid reflux:

• Alcohol
• Black pepper
• Chili and chili powder
• Citrus fruit, pineapple
• Coffee
• Garlic
• Spicy food
• Tea
• Tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato juice, ketchup
• Vinegar

Some patients with acid reflux say these gassy foods cause discomfort:

• Beans
• Broccoli
• Brussel Sprouts
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Kale
• Fizzy drinks (soft drinks)

Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/

ACID REFLUX - How to treat Acid Reflux

A doctor will diagnose acid reflux from the symptoms 

present and treat it by either modifying your diet, 

lifestyle or with medication.

In some cases doctors will diagnose acid reflux by performing an endoscopy. This is a tube which is inserted through the mouth to look at the oesophagus.

The course of treatment that the doctor prescribes may first be modifications to your diet, drinking or smoking habits followed by these remedies:

• Antacids (like Mylanta) - These over-the-counter medications neutralize stomach acid.
• Acid Suppressers (like Zantac) - These suppress acid production in the stomach and are generally prescribed.
• Acid Blockers (like Prilosec) - These completely block acid production in the stomach.

Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/

REFLUX - How to get rid of heartburn

Is heartburn the same thing as reflux? 

And what is the best way to treat it?

Reflux is commonly known as heartburn as it strikes in the chest and can feeling frighteningly like a heart attack. Known medically as gastro oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), reflux occurs when the stomach contents – food and liquid – leak out of the stomach up into the oesophagus. 

The issue is not with an excess of stomach acid, although it may feel that way, but with a defect in the closing of the oesophageal sphincter that separates the stomach from the oesophagus. By design the sphincter should keep a tight seal, only allowing food and drink to travel in a downwards direction, not the reverse.  Symptoms can include the feeling of food being stuck or a lump behind the sternum (breast bone) and a burning or acidic sensation in the sternum and up into the throat. 

Many women experience reflux during pregnancy. This is due in part to the hormones that relax smooth muscle (in this case the oesophageal sphincter) and also later in the pregnancy due to the upward pressure from the baby on the stomach. 

A hiatus hernia often causes reflux – this is when part of the stomach is forced through a small opening (a hiatus) in the diaphragm into the chest. Reflux is also a common symptom of that old friend, stress.

What to do

Several foods trigger reflux, including alcohol, chocolate, coffee, spicy foods, tomatoes, capsicums, cucumbers and citrus fruits. Not all these foods will cause symptoms. Become acquainted with your triggers and avoid them.

Peppermint is usually great for any digestive disorder. However, for some people, peppermint can relax the oesophageal sphincter and trigger reflux. While you’re off your coffee and alcohol, why not drink herbal teas that help reflux? Choose a tea from one or more of the following delicious herbs: licorice root, ginger, chamomile, meadowsweet and lemon balm. Slippery elm is an absolute must when treating reflux. It soothes and heals. Take a teaspoon of slippery elm powder before or with each meal, mashed with a little yoghurt, banana or in hot water.  

Source: http://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/