Acid reflux symptoms manifest in patients with GERD or acid reflux, a condition that occurs when the tube transporting food into the stomach becomes too weak to handle the acid produced, stored, and used by the stomach to digest the food a person eats. In order to store the acid produced without causing damage to the digestive system, the stomach walls must have enough strength. However, patients may experience some symptoms when the stomach pushes the acid to the esophagus. To give you knowledge about this condition, this article presents some of the acid reflux symptoms.

Acid Refux Symptoms:

1. Heartburn – GERD or acid reflux is mainly characterized by heartburn, one of the primary acid reflux symptoms, often described as pain or burning sensation that radiates from the abdomen to the chest and throat. A certain medical study states that 75% of patients with acid reflux experience this symptom at night especially after they have engaged in certain activities such as:

· After eating a heavy meal;
· Lifting;
· Bending over;
· Lying down on the back

2. Dyspepsia – almost 50% of acid reflux patients suffer from dyspepsia, a condition characterized by the following:

· Pain and discomfort particularly in the upper part of the abdomen;
· Nausea after eating;
· Feeling of fullness

However, it is important to remember that it is possible to have dyspepsia without having acid reflux.

3. Regurgitation – this condition is described as the feeling of acid backed up in the throat. It is sometimes called “wet burp” when the acid is pushed to the mouth. If the acid is forced back to the mouth, it causes the feeling of throwing up..

Less Common Acid Reflux Symptoms:

Acid reflux may also be characterized by some less common acid reflux symptoms which may possibly be localized in some areas of the body. Some of these are:

1. Burning Sensation or Pain in the Chest – while this condition can also be a symptom of other medical conditions such as angina and heart attack, this condition characterized by the feeling of having food behind the breastbone can also manifest when the patient has acid reflux.

2. Throat Acid Reflux Symptoms including the following:

· Acid laryngitis – this condition is characterized by dry cough, hoarseness, feeling of lump in the throat, and the need to clear the throat repeatedly
· Dysphagia (trouble swallowing) – in some cases, acid reflux may cause the patient to choke or have difficulty in swallowing the food, thereby causing severe chest pain.
· Persistent hiccups
· Chronic sore throat

3. Respiratory Symptoms – a certain medical study states that almost 40% of those non-smoking patients with acid reflux experience coughing and wheezing.

4. Vomiting and Chronic Nausea – nausea that lasts for a long time may also be one of the acid reflux symptoms. In some cases, vomiting may occur once a day. However, all other possible causes of vomiting and chronic nausea should be ruled out with proper diagnosis, including stomach cancer, ulcers, gallbladder or pancreatic disorders.

Acid reflux disease, commonly referred to as GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a condition in which the liquid contents of the stomach refluxes into the esophagus. This liquid can inflame the lining of the esophagus. Although visible signs of inflammation occur in a minority of patients. The regurgitated liquid mostly contains acid and pepsin that are produced by the stomach. Pepsin is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins in the stomach. The refluxed liquid may also contain bile that has gone-up into the stomach from the duodenum. Acid reflux disease affects more than 20% of Americans. Some 80% of the 60 million U.S. citizens who have been diagnosed with acid reflux disease describe worse symptoms at night, and three in four say they routinely wake up from sleep because of it.

This relationship between sleep apnea and acid reflux makes perfect sense because when you’re awake, gravity helps keep acids required to digest food down where they belong, in the stomach. But when you’re lying down, these acids can wash back into the esophagus, damaging the lining and significantly boosting the risk of esophageal cancer.

A few researchers think that sleep apnea is caused by airway pressure changes that can cause acid reflux to occur, yet other researchers assume that the reflux of acids may be a result of spasms of the vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea.

What Is Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which person has one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep.

The Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can occur 5 to 30 times or more per hour. Usually, Typically, normal breathing then begins again, occasionally with a loud snort or choking sound.

Sleep apnea usually is a persistent condition that disrupts your sleep 3 or more nights a week.

This disturbance causes poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea

When we’re awake, the muscles help keep one’s throat stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs easily. When you sleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Usually, the relaxed throat muscles don’t stop the airway from staying open to let air into the lungs.

Acid reflux is more often than not a frequent condition. When it begins, it usually is life-long. If you have injury to the lining of the esophagus then it is a chronic condition. There are a lot of different acid reflux treatments you can consider using. One popular option is Pepcid .