The food we eat comes to the stomach through the esophagus. In other words, the stomach is connected to the esophagus above. Reflux is when stomach contents leak back into the esophagus for various reasons. If this situation continues for a long time, the acidic stomach contents will irritate the esophagus. The esophagus becomes unable to protect itself from stomach acid. In people with reflux, bitter water and food may come into the mouth, usually after eating. Another factor in the occurrence of reflux occurs when the valve between the stomach and the esophagus fails to fulfill its function. This valve prevents the stomach contents from passing into the esophagus. Reflux, which is a common disease all over the world, is also very common in our country. According to research, one in every 5 adults has reflux. In the USA, this rate is 0.5 percent.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF REFLUX?
People with reflux have some of the following symptoms:
Heartburn is the most complained about disorder.< br /> Feeling that the stomach contents are rising up,
Burning in the chest area,
Bitter water coming to the mouth,
Heart palpitations,
Disturbing stomach bloating, coughing,
In some cases It can manifest itself with a few symptoms in the throat;
Feeling like there is something in the throat and the feeling of clearing the throat,
Difficulty in swallowing,
Cough,
Sore throat,
Stress does not increase reflux. . However, it causes reflux complaints to be felt. In fact, stress leads to increased complaints as it causes stomach diseases such as gastritis and ulcers and increases stomach acid.
Reflux can cause bad breath. However, not only reflux, but also an infection in the teeth, tonsillitis, sinusitis, and decreased saliva cause bad breath. It is necessary to distinguish these from reflux. In some cases, the patient says that his mouth smells bad; but this may not be noticed by other people. This is a psychological problem and it is treated.
DIAGNOSIS OF REFLUX
One of the most commonly used methods in the diagnosis of reflux is endoscopy. It is applied to every patient. With this method, the condition of the stomach valve, damage to the esophagus and other disorders on the stomach surface are detected. In another method used in diagnosis, the passage of the drug through the esophagus is monitored with a medicated film. and if there is any problem, it is treated. With other methods, reflux in the esophagus is measured by pH meter, and the power of the esophagus to push food is measured by manometry.
REFLUX TREATMENT
Some precautions to be taken by patients are paying attention to nutrition and medication to control the disease. allows it to be taken under There are several options for treating reflux. Once it is determined how advanced the disease is, the most appropriate treatment is determined by your doctor. One of the treatment options is medication. For this purpose, medications are used to control stomach acid or reduce its secretion. Thus, the amount of acid entering the esophagus is reduced. Positive results are obtained in many reflux patients. However, when the drug is stopped, symptoms and complaints begin to reappear. Because the problem in the stomach valve cannot be eliminated with this drug treatment. With this treatment, irritation of the esophagus is minimized, but since the bile fluid is not acidic, it still leaks into the esophagus and causes damage.
Another form of treatment is surgical treatment. If the disease cannot be controlled with the measures and medications taken, anti-reflux surgery is performed. The surgery achieves a high degree of success and the reflux complaint is completely eliminated. In this surgery, since the defect in the stomach valve is corrected, gastric fluid is prevented from passing into the esophagus. It is a more appropriate form of treatment to choose. There is no need to use medication. If you do not want to use medication throughout your life, surgery is sufficient to get rid of the disease completely.
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