It is widely agreed among physicians and medical paraprofessionals, that initial diagnosis, mostly by using a typical acid reflux symptoms questionnaire, is necessary to ensure the most effective and quick treatment for this condition. Approx 70% of the acid reflux diagnostics that are based on the presence of typical symptoms are accurate. Since acid reflux, also called GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), can cause patients a great deal of discomfort and result in severe complications, it is highly important to know how to identify its symptoms in order to quickly diagnose and treat it.
The most common symptom of GERD is persistent heartburn. Heartburn is experienced as an unpleasant and painful burning sensation in the esophageal area. Other typical symptoms are as follows:
1. Gastric regurgitation, which means an unrestricted reversed flow of gastric or esophageal contents into the throat. This gastric fluid can cause respiratory complications under certain conditions.
2. Odynophagia, which means pain when swallowing.
3. Dysphagia, which means difficulty swallowing, or the feeling of food stuck in the throat.
In addition to the above, about 50% of all gastroesophageal reflux disease sufferers report the co-occurrence of sinonasal symptoms (i. e. symptoms pertaining to the nose and sinuses).
Abnormal GERD symptoms include chronic wheezing and coughing (sometimes referred to as acid reflux related asthma, and are caused by the aspiration of gastric contents into the lungs area), spasmodic noncardiac chest pain and damage to the lungs, often followed by respiratory diseases such as pneumonia and asthma. Intense chest pain may closely resemble that of myocardial infarction that it has often been incorrectly interpreted as a heart attack. However, unlike the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, cardiovascular chest pain is usually aggravated during physical exercise.
Finally, acid reflux can also harm the vocal cords (hoarseness, laryngitis, cancer), ears (otitis media), and teeth (enamel decay). Being able to identify those symptoms as GERD related is of great importance to your health and general well being and for the prevention of potential complications. Acid reflux symptoms might serve as evidence to severe overall internal imbalance. In addition to that, neglected gastroesophageal reflux disease can lead to significant physical discomfort and sometimes can results in chronic and even dangerous health conditions, such as esophageal cancer and pneumonia.
No comments:
Post a Comment
What do you think about this quote? What's your favorite The Hangover. quote?