Do you know several of the respiratory problems like cough & wheezing are linked to Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD)?

Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) is a condition in which the stomach content flow backwards in to our food pipe and cause damages inside. Normally when we eat food, it passes in to stomach through a hollow pipe called esophagus. In the lower end of esophagus, there is a valve called lower esophageal sphincter. It controls the passage of food from the food pipe to stomach in one way direction. When food reaches its lower portion, the valve opens and allow the food to pass through this valve in to stomach and then it closes immediately. If there is any weakness and problem in the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), it causes backward flow or reflux of stomach contents in to esophagus.

GERD is associated with several symptoms like: Pain in the upper abdomen, burning sensation in the chest after eating food, difficulty for swallowing, sour taste in the mouth, regurgitation (eating food bring back to mouth), vomiting etc. Sometimes the GERD symptoms mimic the heart attack, like breathlessness etc. Acid regurgitation can also result in upper and lower respiratory problems.

GERD is mainly caused by the weakness of muscles around the lower esophageal valve that causes improper relaxation in the lower esophageal sphincter. This improper relaxation and weakness may be due to obesity, hiatus hernia, excessive usage of steroid medicine etc.

Untreated GERD can lead to serious complication like Barret’s esophagus (tissue around the lower esophagus is replaced by other tissues and it may increase the chance of esophageal cancer), esophagitis (inflammation of the esophagus), etc.