Gastroesophageal reflux is a disease of the esophagus caused by improper diet. There are many reactions that take place in the stomach to digest food. And without an acidic environment in the cavity of the stomach, a person could not live. But if the acid enters the esophagus, the walls begin to collapse, ulcers form. And, of course, this is not very good for the body, as it can end in cancer without proper treatment.
Reflux is a simplified name for the disease. In medicine, it has a full name - gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. It is one of the most common gastrointestinal problems in the world.
Symptoms
What are the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux in adults? GERD is most often manifested by severe heartburn. It intensifies when doing exercises in a prone position, or when a person is engaged in physical activity.
There are other non-specific symptoms. This is dysphagia (painful swallowing),frequent laryngitis, bronchospasm, nausea and belching after eating. Due to the fact that acid enters the oral cavity and destroys tooth enamel, such a patient will have frequent dental problems. There are also otolaryngological symptoms. Frequent inflammation of the middle ear may also indicate this disease.
Associated symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux - belching with a sour taste in the mouth, frequent hiccups, pain when swallowing food. With serious complications, esophageal vomiting develops, that is, vomiting of undigested stomach contents within a relatively short period of time after eating.
Reason for reflux
The main cause of gastroesophageal reflux is poor diet, smoking and eating at a fast pace. When a person takes in air through the mouth, the pressure in the stomach rises.
What else could be the cause?
- Disruption of the muscle sphincter.
- Overweight.
- Drinking alcohol.
- Wrong diet.
- Diaphragmatic hernia.
Substances that complicate the course of the disease include frequent drinking of coffee and smoking. According to some reports, chocolate is also harmful. A stomach problem such as gastroesophageal reflux often accompanies pregnant women.
Medications can damage the gastrointestinal tract. We are talking about nitrates, anticholinergics, beta-blockers.
Why is the sphincter broken?
The sphincter or cardia itself is a muscular ring,closes immediately after food is received. This ensures its one-way movement along the gastrointestinal tract. When this gastric valve does not close completely, hydrochloric acid immediately "accesses" the esophagus. The valve stops working for one or more reasons:
- problems with the thyroid and therefore with hormones;
- overeating;
- psychological stress;
- getting into the stomach of such aggressive mucous substances as alcohol, hot peppers, coffee;
- some medicines with side effects;
- prolonged severe cough.
Still, the most important factor is overeating, and it is the use of fat. When the stomach cavity is greatly stretched, the angle between the esophagus and the stomach itself changes, and food can accidentally enter the esophageal mucosa. Over time, the process gets worse.
One of the most unpleasant consequences of stretching the muscular cardia is achalasia. Such a person cannot eat normally at all. Therefore, you need to understand that gastroesophageal reflux is not just an unpleasant disease. It can lead to very serious consequences.
Types of GERD
As a disease, gastroesophageal reflux, the degrees of which are given below, has some features. Firstly, the first degree - non-erosive reflux - occurs in almost every inhabitant of the Earth from time to time. And at night, due to the horizontal position of the body, acid reflux is an absolutely normal phenomenon. And secondly, the disease lends itself very welltreatment.
According to the medical classification, there are 3 types of disease:
- Non-erosive reflux. The mildest type, without complications of esophagitis. Most common.
- Erosive-ulcerative form - reflux is complicated by ulcers or streaks.
- Barrett's esophagus.
As for the stages of development, everything is simple. Nonerosive reflux is the mildest disease. The ulcerative form is moderate in severity, and the most severe final - precancerous stage - is the 3rd item on our list.
What is Barrett's esophagus?
The long course of the disease with an increase in the intensity of acid reflux outside the stomach invariably leads the patient to a doctor. Sometimes, along with acids, pancreatic and bile enzymes also enter the esophagus. These substances further injure the mucosa. Due to the action of bile on the walls of the esophagus, cyclooxygenase-2 is activated. The presence of this substance is already a harbinger of Barrett's esophagus.
When the distal esophagus becomes covered with new connective cells after ulceration, it means that the 3rd stage of such a disease as gastroesophageal reflux has come.
During endoscope examination, columnar epithelium with special goblet cells instead of stratified squamous epithelium is found. This is the last stage in the development of GERD and is, in fact, a precancerous condition. The diagnosis is confirmed only after a histological examination.
Cell changes occur in the body as an adaptive response to strongirritants, i.e. acids and alkalis. After all, the cylindrical epithelium is much "stronger", it is harder to burn it. But when protective cells develop too rapidly, this is already a harbinger of cancer.
The likelihood of adenocarcinoma is very high, even after treatment with proton pump blockers, and this drug is very powerful.
Forecasts
At the first stage, the disease is completely harmless. However, do not allow reflux to become more frequent and painful. Approximately 10-15% of people who already have reflux develop serious complications. This can include narrowing of the esophagus, ulcers, esophageal bleeding, and adenocarcinomas.
What else to notice about the dangers of gastroesophageal reflux? Treatment of the disease is effective if it is started on time.
Disease in children
Not only adults, but children are also susceptible to GERD. There are several features of gastroesophageal reflux in children. Treatment is essentially the same as for adults.
Why do children get sick? If one of the parents has chronic stomach problems, and there were others in his family who also suffered from reflux of various origins, then the child is likely to have problems too.
There may also be other reasons:
- vegetative dysfunction;
- worm infestation;
- gastritis, gastroduodenitis;
- incipient hernia of the esophagus;
- use of medications containing barbiturates or nitrates;
- excessive consumption of chips, crackers, energy drinks.
Nota less important reason for the development of gastroesophageal disease in a child is the lifestyle of the mother during pregnancy. If during the period of carrying the fetus, and then during feeding, the woman did not get rid of the habit of smoking, most likely the child will have deviations. For example, stomach deformity, diaphragmatic hernia from birth, and more.
Provoke GERD since childhood such diseases:
- asthma, bronchitis;
- constipation;
- cystic fibrosis;
- high load in sports sections.
According to statistics, boys suffer from GERD more often than girls. Perhaps because they work out more on the sports grounds. And if both parents have chronic gastritis, it is highly likely that the boy will begin to experience the first symptoms of reflux before adolescence.
GERD Diagnosis
With frequent heartburn, it is still recommended to find time and go through several important procedures. For comprehensive diagnostics use:
- 24/7 monitoring of intraesophageal acidity;
- egofagoscopy;
- X-ray with barium;
- pH-metry to change acidity;
- CBC.
An x-ray with contrast is used to see if there is a herniated diaphragm. If it is, the treatment already involves surgery, since conventional antacids will not help.
Gastroesophageal reflux. Treatment
If an adult is diagnosed with eitherweak non-erosive form, or already ulcerative, then this is a signal for an immediate change in diet and the whole lifestyle. The basic rule is to eat moderately and by the hour, so as not to overstrain the stomach with a plentiful meal. Pain, belching and heartburn are relieved by some medicines. This, for example, "Phosfalugel", "Almagel", "Maalox". This is a group of antacids. However, their use only brings temporary relief.
Most of the time, treatment comes down to a simple lifelong pill to help with acute pain. Now there is such a series of drugs as proton pump inhibitors. These include "Rabeprazole". This medicine is a good alternative to conventional painkillers as it helps prevent more serious complications.
How do these drugs work? Such a drug from this series, like Omeprazole, simply reduces the production of stomach acid, and the disease stops progressing. However, this does not mean that you can continue to smoke. The smoke from cigarettes not only enters the lungs, but also harms the entire body.
Surgery
If the problems in the body are more serious, a simple diet is not limited. Surgery may be needed to improve the condition.
During the operation, doctors reduce the hiatal hernia. No medication can cure this pathology. Also, the operation helps to speed up the passage of food from the stomach to the intestines by increasing the tone of the muscle sphincters.
Preventiondiseases
So we know how to treat gastroesophageal reflux. But how to prevent the development of GERD? You need to eat 4 times a day a little. If there are erosive manifestations in the stomach, then 6 times. After eating, you can not do any physical exercises. Dinner should be three hours before going to bed. By following these well-known elementary rules, you will protect yourself from the risk of getting esophageal cancer.
One more rule. Sleep on a bed with a slightly raised headboard. When the head is raised about 15-20°, the esophagus is less affected by sphincter relaxation and acid reflux.
What rules are important to follow if reflux disease is increasingly making itself felt in the form of unpleasant belching, pain and heartburn? The very first thing is to stop eating too spicy, fatty foods. Eliminate coffee and chocolate from your diet. For the sake of he alth, you will have to eat cereals, vegetables and fruits.
Conclusion
What can you sum up? Gastroesophageal reflux, the symptoms and treatment of which we examined in this material, is not dangerous until it kills the epithelial cells of the esophageal wall and does not lead to a clear deterioration in well-being. Fast poor-quality nutrition and stress in many ways provoke diseases, especially when there is a hereditary predisposition. And this means that you need to follow the diet even more carefully.
Gastritis, ulcers and duodenitis are the most common causes of gastroesophageal reflux. Treatment must be selected, taking into account the real situation. Which meansit is necessary to pass all the examinations, be sure to do egophagoscopy and pH-metry.
