Acid reflux symptoms are most often described by sufferers as burning, gnawing, painful and oh, yes, chronic…like the kind that refuses to go away, chronic…and persistent... and burning!

Painful, chronic persistent heartburn that lasts three or more months and occurs at least twice each and every week is often diagnosed as Acid Reflux Disease or Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). This pesky little nuisance can cause long term damage to the esophagus if left untreated.

Erosive esophagitis, wow... that even sounds painful just reading those words..., occurs when the gastric acids bubbling backwards through the LES, the lower esophageal sphincter, and into the esophagus eventually eroding away the lining of the esophagus causing not only the erosions but often times inflammation and tissue damage as well.

This leaves the patient with a very painful esophagus which can make swallowing undesirable and quite difficult.

In the adult population, acid reflux symptoms are classically seen as heartburn, chest pain, difficulty swallowing (dysphagia), pain or an uncomfortable feeling in the upper middle part of the stomach (dyspepsia) and even difficulty swallowing or the feeling of a lump in the throat.

Less common symptoms include a chronic cough, wheezing, hoarseness, a sore throat and earaches.

When trying to minimize the symptoms of GERD it is important to remember that everyone is different!

Some easy things to try include losing weight if obesity is an issue, avoiding or at least decreasing alcohol consumption, eliminating or decreasing smoking, and avoid foods which may trigger acid reflux symptoms.

Food triggers can include chocolate, caffeinated drinks, spicy foods, garlic, onions, tomato-based foods, fatty foods, fried foods, mint flavorings, citrus fruits. Bummer, sounds like that leaves out a lot of my favorite foods!!

But it is certainly worth making the lifestyle changes necessary to avoid the pain of acid reflux disease symptoms.