Do You Have Asthma and Acid Reflux?
If you suffer from both asthma and acid reflux, you should know that the two could be directly related. Many people suffer from asthma due to environmental factors such as pollution and pollen that wasn’t so prevalent in the past. A person with asthma suffers from difficulty breathing and will often find that they are wheezy, and often have allergies. A person who suffers from asthma may also find that they have acid reflux and that both conditions feed off each other so that they become worse than if you didn’t have the other one.
It is thought that acid reflux might also be tied to asthma. If you wind up suffering with heartburn more than two times weekly, then you might have acid reflux. Heartburn occurs when the stomach acid climbs into the esophagus and begins to burn it. While there are no studies saying that asthma and acid reflux are directly linked, it has been found that if you suffer from acid reflux, it may cause your asthma to become worse. Now, maybe you’re wondering how this could be, but you should know that it really makes sense that they would be tied together.
If acid reflux isn’t treated, it will often get worse, the stomach acid continues to go up into the esophagus and occasionally it goes as high as the mouth. Often, by the time it’s hit the mouth, that same acid has gone into lungs. Research shows that people who suffer from asthma and have acid reflux wind up having a more difficult time with their asthma. This is because when a person’s breathing becomes worse and their chests get tighter, the acid is forced to climb into the airways.
While everyone who suffers from acid reflux should seek treatment, it’s especially important to get treatment and if you have asthma, you should try even harder to avoid getting acid reflux because of the risk of worsening your condition. If you’ve had your heartburn treated, you might find that your asthma symptoms improve as well.
You health care professional might give you hydrocortisone based medications for your asthma and you might wind up getting for a prescription to treat your acid reflux. While you probably don’t want to be stuck taking these forever, you might find that any asthma prevention you take will help you to breathe better all the time and you may discover that the acid reducers you take will help to fight your acid reflux and help you to feel better all the time.
If you suffer from either one of these conditions, it’s important to seek medical attention so that you can get back to living asthma and acid reflux free.
