Acid Reflux » Acid Reflux Causes

Lower Esophageal Sphincter: Its Link to Acid Reflux

tuan megai — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:20:41 +0000

Esophageal Sphincter

The esophagus is a muscular tube that is around 10 inches long which connects the back of the mouth to the stomach. In the act of swallowing, food begins its passage through this portion of the alimentary canal to undergo digestive processing. The movement of food from the esophagus into the stomach is controlled by the opening and closing of a muscular ring called the cardiac sphincter.

The most important function of the esophagus is to maintain stomach stuffs such as food, acid and bile. The function of the esophagus is maintained through the help of two muscles or regulators known as the upper and lower esophageal sphincters. However, the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) is considered as the vital of the two muscles because it has the one that keep away the stomach contents from moving back and forth from the stomach into the esophagus.

How LES Functions

The lower esophageal sphincter is situated underneath the esophagus. It is considered as the soaring force among the esophagus and stomach. It is comprised of muscles at the base of the esophagus and diaphragm. By the time it closes, no amount of food and juices or other stomach contents can move up into the esophagus.

LES begins its work as the food moves down from the esophagus by the process known as esophageal contraction. This contraction begins during the swallowing of food. By the time swallowing comes to an end LES closes to maintain the food in the stomach. Additionally, the gastro-esophageal flap valve at the LES usually closes automatically as soon as your stomach is full.

Temporary LES regenerations

It is a common occurrence for the LES to unlock irregularly even without the presence of swallowing. This is known as transient LES relaxations which usually happen following a meal when your stomach is already filled with food and other stuff like air that was ingested. Majority of these regenerations happen to make way for the air to come out of your stomach thus resulting to constant burping especially after meals due to the movement of food and stomach acid into your esophagus. The occurrence of temporary LES regenerations usually happens when you are lying down.

If your esophagus functions normally, tough esophageal tightening begins to push back refluxed stomach stuff in the stomach to clean the esophagus from acid. Additionally, your saliva has the capacity to counterbalance any gastric acid residue that may damage the inside layer of your esophagus. In view of this, heartburn indications may not be experienced during transient LES relaxations.

A lot of individuals experience irregular heartburn. However individuals who encounter recurrent heartburn indications have the ability to go through regular transient LES relaxations unlike those people who do not have or have only irregular heartburn indications. For individuals suffering serious GERD, their LES may be irregularly low pressured.

The function of the LES should be fully supported in order not to result to acid reflux. You have to research more about this thing for you to understand what it is about. Ask your health care provider about it.

Hiatal Hernia: A Look at One of the Culprits to Acid Reflux

tuan megai — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 08:06:51 +0000

Hiatal Hernia

Hiatal hernia is a condition in which the lower end of the esophagus or part of the stomach protrudes through the diaphragm. Although the term rupture is commonly used to mean the same things as hernia, the difference is that a rupture is a tear or break in the tissue, while hernia involves weakening of the underlying organs. It is commonly said to be a culprit to acid reflux.

Commonly, your esophagus goes beyond below your chest. It traverses the diaphragm and goes through the stomach into a gap of the diaphragm known as esophageal hiatus. People with hiatal hernias have a larger than normal esophageal hiatus. It is believed that majority of cases in adult progresses over the years.

Causes of hiatal hernia

Hiatal hernia may be a birth defect or it may be acquired as the result of an injury. Usually, this type of hernia results from a weakening of the muscles around the opening of the esophagus that leads into the stomach. In cases of obesity, when the stomach is larger than normal, its contents are pushed back into the lower part of the esophagus. This extra stress can result in herniation of the area. Because the same kind of pressure occurs during pregnancy, hiatal hernia may develop a month or so before delivery and disappear when the baby is born.

Kinds of hiatal hernias

Below are some of the kinds of hiatal hernias:

Sliding hiatal hernia. This is considered as the most usual form of hernia wherein the gastro-esophageal junction and a segment of the stomach hangover the chest. The junction may exist eternally in the chest, but oftentimes it protrudes while swallowing.
Para-esophageal hernias. This is a kind of hernia wherein the gastro-esophageal junction remains connected at the same height of the diaphragm, however segment of the stomach slips away in the chest alongside the esophagus. It is not affected when an individual swallows. It is also considered as a very rare kind of hiatal hernia.

Symptoms of hiatal hernia

An infant with this malformation may regurgitate food that is slightly blood-stained. In adult, the most common symptoms are indigestion, heartburn, breathing difficulties, bringing up of food, discomforts during swallowing and flatulence. Some people may have a slight hiatal hernia with so few symptoms that they are unaware of the disorder until it shows up on an x-ray developed for some other purposes.

Treatment for hiatal hernia

When this type of hernia is present at birth, it may correct itself when the stomach naturally descends to its proper place in the upper abdomen. Until it does so, the infant is kept in an upright position day and night. If the condition does not improve, surgical procedure is essential.

Most adults with hiatal hernia are advised to eliminate spicy foods, and to readjust their eating patterns. They must eat in moderation or approximately every three hours instead of having three heavy meals each day. Where obesity is a factor, weight loss is recommended.

Medications may be prescribed to reduce vomiting and heartburn. Surgery is recommended only when other treatment is unsuccessful in relieving the patient of major discomfort. Relieve yourself from hiatal hernia in order for it not to become acid reflux.

Esophageal Spasm: Facts about One of the Causes of Acid Reflux

tuan megai — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 07:43:33 +0000

Esophageal spasms or contractions are described as abnormal, uncomfortable and oftentimes strong tightening of the esophagus. Regularly, it causes food to move freely from the esophagus to the stomach. However, it can inhibit the food from going into the stomach thus allowing it to remain in the esophagus. At the end, it becomes a cause to acid reflux.

Although esophageal contractions are rare, it may occur due to the cause of other health problems like gastro-esophageal reflux disease. This is a trouble in the nervous system wherein the muscles of the esophagus and the lower esophageal sphincter are not in harmony with each other. Stress and nervousness can also trigger esophageal contractions.

Causes and symptoms of esophageal spasms

The real source of esophageal contraction is still considered mysterious. However, a lot of physicians think that it is due to the interruption of the nerve movement that harmonizes the ingestion performance of your esophagus. In some individuals, extremely hot or cold food and liquid can aggravate the condition.

Majority of individuals with esophageal contractions may experience chest pain affecting their arms, back, neck, and jaw. The discomfort they feel is quite similar to a heart attack. Some people may also experience problems in ingesting food or liquid and annoyance while swallowing. They may also sense that the food they consume is trapped at the middle part of their chest coupled with blazing sensation or heartburn.

Diagnosing esophageal spasms

Your physician will be able to identify the source of esophageal spasms through your medical records. You may also be asked about the kinds of food or liquid that aggravates the symptoms you are experiencing. He may also ask you for symptoms and problems you are encountering, and if you are taking any forms of treatment for the condition.

The analysis can be substantiated by other forms of examinations such as endoscopy. Your physician may also recommend or perform esophagus examination to make certain that the organ is functioning properly. He will give you an acid test to gauge the amount of acid in your esophagus. Your physician may also perform other examinations to identify the real source of the chest pain you are experiencing.

Treatment for esophageal spasms

The medication given for esophageal contraction extends to other problems that may result from your existing condition. Alterations in eating habits and a healthy lifestyle are recommended especially if you have acid reflux. Esophageal contractions may be treated precisely with drugs like nitrates and calcium channel blockers to ease the muscles in the esophagus. The bad news is that these medicines are not efficient all the time in alleviating the symptoms.

Certain antidepressants may also be recommended by your physician even if you are not depressed. They can be useful in stopping the pain you are experiencing due to contraction. Breathing exercises and relaxation may also be recommended to remedy your stressful life and to aid in decreasing the symptoms of your condition. Lastly, your doctor may recommend surgical procedure as a last resort, if all possible medications given have not been successful.

Emptying of the Stomach: Learning About One of the Causes of Acid Reflux

admin — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 08:41:34 +0000

Before you get to understand the concept of “emptying of the stomach” as a probable cause to acid reflux, it pays to learn about how the stomach is actually satisfied. There is a common belief that the extent of the stomach is connected to the amount of food you eat and its volume can be decreased by eating dehydrated food. However, this is a wrong idea because as soon as your stomach is drained of contents, it becomes compressed.

The partitions of your stomach are connected by the force put forth by the other organs. What remains is an air compartment in the higher part of the area. A drained stomach is described by creases which fade away throughout eating foods.

When you abstain from food, you start to feel some discomfort. However as soon as you start eating, the stimulant is prevented from making an action and your stomach muscles will be bloated due to receptive relaxation. In view of this, the nervous action of your stomach’s partition help in accumulating the food but its inner force has no ability of intensifying the area.

Concept of stomach emptying

Emptying of the stomach begins when the food you eat is thoroughly compressed and combined with gastric emissions. This turns into appropriate nourishment for the intestines. The emptying of the stomach starts 15 to 60 minutes after eating.

It is a very slow process because complete draining will take 5 to 10 hours for solid foods. However almost one half of the stuff is emptied three hours after you eat. Take note however that this is not the primary amount of food that causes the rate of the stomach emptying.

The chyme and emptying of the stomach

Throughout gastric absorption, little amounts of gastric stuffs go through the pylorus to be dissected by the duodenum. The duodenum is the initial segment of the small intestine following the stomach. In reality, there are some forms of receptors that are situated in your duodenum which is capable of finding out the quantities of fats, proteins and the amounts of obtainable power in your system.

Duodenum is also responsible in normalizing the chyme discharged into the pylorus. If you have liquid foods which have different amounts of glucose, the period of gastric preservation differs to make sure that the normal supply of kcal in the duodenum is maintained.

If you will continuously eat dehydrated or canned food, the progression of gastric emptying will not alter much. On the other hand, hydrated food increases the speed of gastric emptying, but the discharge will depend on the power of the ingredients incorporated in food. It is advised that you should split up the daily portion of your meals to shorten gastric emptying.

Emptying of the stomach at its worst may result to a more discomforting acid reflux. You need to pay attention every time you feel your stomach is empty and desiring for food. Likewise, you should also be alarmed if you have decreased food cravings.