When you are dealing with acid refluxing up into the esophagus, you know there can be many painful problems that follow. Acid can travel up to the top of the throat and may leak into the lungs, causing all kinds of breathing problems, and even lowering lung function. You may have problems with your sinuses, and you know all about the pain in the chest that comes with reflux. You may also notice that it hurts to swallow sometimes, and that can be due to damage in the upper esophagus and throat. When that happens, you want to find something for immediate relief, and that means finding good ways to soothe acid reflux throat irritation.
The first thing you should consider when thinking about acid reflux throat pain is that you have to get your reflux under control if you have not already done so. If you don't stop the root of your throat irritation, nothing is going to help you. The biggest problem you may have with your throat is that it hurts in the morning. This is because acid has leaked into the esophagus while you were sleeping, and has sat in your throat. Start taking medications or natural remedies to combat acid reflux, which ever you are more comfortable with using.
You will still experience some acid reflux throat irritation while you are working to get your reflux under control. That is when you can think about things that can soothe your throat until the acid is not doing any more damage. Once the acid is contained, your tissues will heal, but it might not happen right away. However, depending on the state of the damage, it might not mean complete healing.
Here are five tips for soothing your acid reflux throat pain and irritation:
- Think about minimizing your throat damage by elevating the head of your bed. Find something you can use to raise the top of your mattress so that the upper half of your body is elevated by at least six inches. You have to make sure you elevate the entire upper torso, and not just your head. This helps keeps acid down into the stomach and out of the esophagus while you are sleeping.
- Sometimes a sore throat can be aggravated by dry air. When sleeping, many of us breath through our mouths without realizing it. What might help is having a humidifier going while you are sleeping. This puts moisture into the air, and helps the throat from drying over night.
- There are a few drinks you can use to soothe your throat irritation in the morning. You can try gargling with salt water, or you can try any number of teas. You only need about a half a teaspoon of salt per tall glass of water for gargling, and when drinking tea, add some honey.
- You can also try zinc cough drops or lozenges. These should not be relied on, and should not be used all day, but can be used when pain is bad and you need to take the edge off.
- Lastly, increase your daily fluid intake. This isn't a direct cure for acid reflux throat irritation, but it does help in the long run. You should drink plenty of water each day, and it has more benefits that just helping with a sore throat. Aim for eight glasses a day, and drink more if you can.
The formation of gases and acidic substances in the stomach and its backing up into the esophagus causes severe pain or burning sensation in the stomach and chest area that is clinically known as Acid Reflux or Gastroespohageal Reflux Disease. Because of the feeling of burning sensation in the center of the chest this disease is also popularly known as Heartburn disease.
A. The Causes of Acid Reflux or Heartburn Disease
The main causes of Acid Reflux or the Heartburn disease is the formation and backing up of gases and acids from the stomach to the esophagus. The patient experiences severe pain or burning feeling in his stomach and chest area as the acidic stomach gases come in contact with the damages or lesions on the inside of his esophagus. When someone drinks orange or tomato juice or any kind of similar fruit juice, the acid in the juice comes in direct contact with the lesions or sores in the esophagus causing severe pain and burning feeling in the stomach. Sometimes when people usually burp they experience pain or heartburn because of the esophageal damage.
Our stomach contains enzymes and hydrochloric acid which help in the digestive process. The acidic contents of our stomach exert some force against our Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) valve. If the valve is damaged or swollen then the valve is overpowered by this pressure. When the pressure manages to overcome the LES valve, the acidic gases or fumes from our stomach readily starts to reflux into the esophagus. In our esophagus the acidic fumes make contact with the lesions or sores and the result is severe pain or feeling of a burning sensation in the chest area.
B. The Symptoms of Acid Reflux Disease
The Acid Reflux disease has some very common symptoms. The most common symptom of acid reflux disease is heartburn. The other symptoms of this disease are as follows:
1) Feeling of burning sensation or pressure sensation in the chest area that may even radiate upward toward the back and neck.
2) Regular chest pain that occurs at the time of bending over or lying down especially soon after taking food.
3) Feeling of hot, acidic, or sour tasting fluid at the back of the throat or in the mouth.
4) A feeling of coming back of food into the mouth from the stomach or sticking of food in the chest or throat.
C. The Effects of Acid Reflux Disease
Generally acid reflux causes severe pain and burning sensation in stomach and chest area. In some cases the acid reflux sufferers experience a pressure sensation along with burning sensation in their chest area. This pressure sensation can even radiate into the arm, back or neck area. This pressure is sometime relieved when we burp. The acid reflux may even cause extra mucus for which one might experience a constant cough or sore throat. The vocal cords can also be affected by the acid reflux disease. To prevent the Acid Reflux disease we have to avoid certain foods such as Fried foods, Fatty foods, Spicy foods, etc.
Both Kathryn Whittaker & Tyler J Stevenson are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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