Acid Reflux

Acid reflux also known as pyrosis and acid indigestion is a burning sensation around the chest which caused by the flow of stomach acid back into the food pipe. The burning occurs when the gastro esophageal sphincter which acts as a valve to prevent the back movement of food from stomach to the food pipe fails; this enables the entry of the stomach hydrochloric acid which is responsible for digestion of food and for protection against undesirable microbes.

The symptoms include heart burning sensation, dry cough, nausea, wheezing, vomiting, asthma, throat problems, chest and abdominal pain, dental erosion and difficulty in breathing.

Sixty percent of the adult population will experience some type of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) within a 12 month period and 20 to 30 percent will have weekly symptoms. Approximately seven million people in the United States have some symptoms of GERD. Children with GERD symptoms who were hospitalized with a primary GERD diagnosis increased by 42 percent in infants and 84 percent in children between the ages of two and 17.