Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Introduction: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Reflux refers to the stomach acid rising up the "wrong way" back up the esophagus and sometimes into the mouth. When this occurs chronically it is probably caused by Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). Symptoms typically include recurrent heartburn, reflux, and regurgitation, but may also include chest pain, hoarseness or swallowing difficulty; see also other symptoms of GERD. Diagnosis of GERD requires consideration of other possible underlying conditions causing symptoms, such as hiatal hernia. Prolonged GERD can be associated with throat damage such as reflux esophagitis, Barrett's esophagus and also stomach ulcers.

Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Heartburn
• Persistent heartburn - twice a week or more; most common GERD symptom, though surprisingly you can have GERD without heartburn
• Reflux
• Acid regurgitation
• Bitter taste in mouth

See full list of 18 symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Medical Textbooks Online about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Barium swallow radiograph
• Upper endoscopy
• PH monitoring examination

Read more about tests for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Wrongly Diagnosed with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease?

• Misdiagnosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Failure to diagnose Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Underlying causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (possibly wrongly diagnosed)
• Failure to diagnose Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Misdiagnosis and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from undiagnosed heart attack, or...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack, but actually have something milder. Some of the conditions which may be ...read more »

Chronic digestive conditions often misdiagnosed: When diagnosing chronic symptoms of the digestive tract, there are a variety of conditions that may be misdiagnosed. The best known, irritable bowel...read more »

Intestinal bacteria disorder may be hidden cause: One of the lesser known causes of diarrhea is an imbalance of bacterial in the gut, sometimes called intestinal imbalance....read more »

Antibiotics often causes diarrhea: The use of antibiotics are very likely to cause some level of diarrhea in patients. The reason is that antibiotics kill off not only "bad"...read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become concerned that a condition is a heart attack, whereas...read more »

Food poisoning may actually be an infectious disease: Many people who come down with "stomach symptoms" like diarrhea assume that it's "something I ate" (i.e. food poisoning). In fact...read more »

Mesenteric adenitis misdiagnosed as appendicitis in children: Because appendicitis is one of the more feared conditions for a child with abdominal pain, it can be over-diagnosed (it can, of course, also fail to be diagnosed with...read more »

Celiac disease often fails to be diagnosed cause of chronic digestive symptoms: One of the most common chronic digestive conditions is celiac disease, a malabsorption disorder with a variety of symptoms (see symptoms...read more »

Chronic digestive diseases hard to diagnose: There is an inherent difficulty in diagnosing the various types of chronic digestive diseases. Some of the better known possibilities are peptic ulcer,...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Hiatal hernia
• Esophagus inflammation (see Esophagus symptoms)

Read more about causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

More information about causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease:

• Triggers for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Underlying causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease as a complication caused by other conditions
• Medical news summaries relating to Causes of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Treatments for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Infant GERD treatments
  • Burping after breastfeeding
  • Upright position after breastfeeding
• Childhood GERD treatments
  • Avoid caffeine

See full list of 54 treatments for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Videos for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Patient Surveys for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

More about prognosis of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Reseach about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Visit our research pages for current research about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease treatments.

Statistics for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Medical statistics for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Death and Mortality statistics for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
• Society statistics for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Types of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Infant GERD - a childhood problem that is usually outgrown

Read more about Types of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

See all guides and ebooks for Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Stories from Users Related to Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, occurs when the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) does not close properly, and stomach contents splash back, or reflux, into the esophagus. The LES is a ring of muscle at the bottom of the esophagus that acts like a camera shutter between the esophagus and stomach. The esophagus carries food from the mouth to the stomach.

When refluxed stomach acid touches the lining of the esophagus, it causes a burning sensation in the chest or throat called heartburn. The fluid may even be tasted in the back of the mouth, and this is called acid indigestion. Occasional heartburn is common but does not necessarily mean one has GERD. Heartburn that occurs more than twice a week may be considered GERD, which can eventually lead to more serious health problems. (Source: excerpt from Heartburn, Hiatal Hernia, and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): NIDDK)

Definitions of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease:

Retrograde flow of gastric juice (GASTRIC ACID) and/or duodenal contents (BILE ACIDS; PANCREATIC JUICE) into the distal ESOPHAGUS, commonly due to incompetence of the LOWER ESOPHAGEAL SPHINCTER. Gastric regurgitation is an extension of this process with retrograde flow into the PHARYNX or MOUTH. - (Source - Diseases Database)