Why Is Reflux Painful?

If you suffer from reflux you would experience a burning pain in the chest area and be feeling a lot of discomfort. The pain usually feels as if it is near the breastbone and it may travel into the throat. For some people it can last a few minutes for others it can last for hours and often it begins after eating a meal.

Reflux is a condition that is also sometimes referred to as heartburn. Reflux is not a disorder but a symptom of a different digestive ailment. This means that reflux is actually the most commonly known ‘symptom’ of GERD – Gastro Esphageal Reflux Disease.

Common Reflux Symptoms

When the burning feeling is felt in the throat or when you try and swallow, the cause of such burning sensations is due to the contents from your stomach, have refluxed into your throat. Another common symptom of reflux is feeling sourness or bitterness in your mouth. You may also experience difficulties in being able to swallow normally and this of course occurs because food cannot pass in a normal manner from your mouth through to the esophagus and then into your stomach. In such an instance it may seem like a piece of food has got stuck in your throat and you will also start to feel additional chest pressure after having eaten your food.

In some instances, reflux also leads to developing a chronic cough which also occurs when the contents from your food get into your esophagus and is then aspirated leading to a persistent cough. Finally, reflux can also cause you to suffer from symptoms that mimic those of asthma though for non-asthmatics such a condition only arises in one in every ten persons that are suffering from reflux.

Gastric reflux is a condition in which a sphincter at the lower end of the esophagus relaxes thereby permitting acidic contents from the stomach to enter into a person’s esophagus resulting in irritation. The most common symptoms of this condition include burning sensation in the upper abdominal region which becomes worse when the patient lies down.

Reflux can be monitored by watching what occurs and how long after eating your meals the pain appears. There will be triggers that affect you and you are probably already aware of them. Making a few lifestyle changes and stop acid reflux now.