An Introduction to Acid Reflux Disease

Acid reflux disease, also known as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD, afflicts millions of people. Many suffer from an occasional bout with heartburn, but acid reflux disease, as a diagnosis, should only be made if the heartburn causes impediments to your lifestyle due to severe, chronic discomfort over prolonged periods of time. Usually, if you suffer from heartburn 2 or more times per week for at least 12 weeks, there's a good chance that your diagnosis would be GERD. Unfortunately, no one knows exactly what causes acid reflux disease, but there is an ample amount of information available at your doctor's office and on the Internet.

The good news is that acid reflux disease is a highly manageable condition, though it can lead to potentially serious, chronic conditions. Many avenues are available with regard to treatment options. The most common options recommended include lifestyle changes, medical treatments, stress management, and/or a combination of all strategies.

What is Acid Reflux Disease?
Acid reflux disease is a chronic condition in which stomach acid washes back up onto the esophagus, causing severe discomfort. Stomach acid burns the esophagus lining due to a relaxed lower esophageal sphincter (LES). The LES acts as a valve between your stomach and the esophagus. The valve is designed to open and allow food into the stomach, and then close, protecting the esophagus from acids. However, if the LES is not closing properly, acid rushes or refluxes upward, coating the esophagus, and causes a burning sensation.

Remember that it's normal to suffer from acid reflux (heartburn) every once and awhile. It's only acid reflux disease when it's a chronic condition, happening frequently and for long periods of time. If you are unsure, don't hesitate to see your doctor. One more thing to keep in mind is that heartburn has nothing to do with your heart. It just feels that way at times because the esophagus is located behind the heart.

Acid Reflux Info provides comprehensive information on the cause, symptoms, treatment, and diet associated with normal and infant acid reflux. Acid Reflux Info is the sister site of Pain Relief Web.

Latest News


BioImagene CEO, Dr. Ajit Singh, Speaks On Enabling Personalized ...
MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
Digital pathology, a key enabler for personalized medicine, will aid clinicians in managing and interpreting data from a whole new set of diagnostic tests ...
Aperio Introduces SecondSlide(TM) Digital Slide Sharing Network MarketWatch
all 16 news articles

Boston Globe

Medicine for the Job Market
New York Times, United States - 12 hours ago
By JONATHAN GRUBER A CENTRAL feature of Barack Obama’s presidential campaign was an aggressive plan to expand health insurance coverage by subsidizing ...
New Report Shows Slower Premium Growth, But Increasing Pressure to ... MarketWatch
Health Corps Harvard International Review
Research database from the US Library of Medicine The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com
Belleville News Democrat - Senior-Spectrum
all 203 news articles

Current World News

American College of Surgeons Comments on Institute of Medicine ...
MarketWatch - 19 hours ago
CHICAGO, Dec 03, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The American College of Surgeons (ACS) today recognized the Institute of Medicine (IOM) for its ...
BMC Internal Medicine Residency Program Achieves National ... iBerkshires.com
Report urges more sleep for medical residents Los Angeles Times
Medical Residents Must Sleep After 16 Hours, Experts Urge Washington Post
New York Times - Peoria Journal Star
all 328 news articles

Research and Markets: 2008 Integrative Medicine and Dietary ...
MarketWatch - 2 hours ago
In this 32-page issue, we offer a breakdown of 2007 US Complementary and Alternative Medicine sales data and provides a detailed analysis of new integrative ...

Afrik.com

34 Nigerian Children Dead From Tainted Medicine
Voice of America - Dec 3, 2008
By VOA News Nigerian health officials say they are flying in doses of an antidote for a poisoned teething medicine that has now killed 34 infants. ...
'Toxic' syrup kills Nigerian babies Aljazeera.net
Teething mixture kills more Nigerian babies Monsters and Critics.com
Nigeria infant drug toll hits 34, antidote flown in Reuters South Africa
The Associated Press - NgEX
all 113 news articles

Research database from the US Library of Medicine
The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com, OH - 3 hours ago
Search PubMed, Clinicaltrials.gov, the CDC and a dozen other medical sites - all at once. AP MEDICAL VIDEO by Michael O'Malley and Joan Mazzolini/Plain ...

A New Index of Preventive Medicine Companies
Motley Fool - 17 hours ago
The accompanying table [click to enlarge] presents statistics and the top 15 rated companies in the ETF Innovators [ETFI] Preventive Medicine Index. ...

American Academy of Dermatology Issues Position Statement on Vitamin D
MarketWatch - 1 hour ago
The currently recommended adequate intake levels established by the Institute of Medicine may be revised upward due to evolving research on the increasing ...

NIGERIA: Jos displaced grapple with food, water, medicine shortages
IRINnews.org, NY - 2 hours ago
JOS, 4 December 2008 (IRIN) - Water, medicine and food supplies are running low for an estimated 10000 people displaced by violence in Jos, northern Nigeria ...

Canada.com

"Rogue" stem cell clinics exploit hope: report
Reuters - 14 hours ago
"The direct-to-consumer portrayal of stem cell medicine is optimistic and unsupported by published evidence," Timothy Caulfield of the University of Alberta ...
Scientists warn of “rogue” online stem cell clinics p2pnet.net
Internet stem-cell clinics 'exploiting' MS and Parkinson's patients Times Online
The International Society for Stem Cell Research Releases New ... MarketWatch
MIT Technology Review - MarketWatch
all 393 news articles

Resources


    Sorry Currently Unavailable