Gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD or acid reflux disease is a disease where the liquefied contents of the stomach backs up into your esophagus. The gastric contents are regurgitated…It contains acids and pepsin, which can cause severe damage to the esophagus, although this only happens in very rare cases.
Acid reflux disease is a chronic disease and once contracted you can become a patient for life. If the esophagus is not damaged as this is also a chronic disease – Treatment can be taken to improve the status of the esophageal wall, but if treatment is stopped the problem may return within weeks..
1 – Heartburn is by far the most common symptom of acid reflux disease and if a doctor suspects your heartburn is a cause of acid reflux disease he or she will prescribe a medication that stops the production of acid in the stomach. If it stops then it is assumed that you actually have acid reflux disease. This method of diagnosis may be unreliable though.
2 – An endoscopy is another way to diagnose acid reflux disease. A tube is swallowed so that doctors can see exactly what is happening inside your body. However, a esophagus of a patient suffering from the disease usually looks quite normal so this diagnostic method only directly work for those patients whose esophagus has been damaged by acid reflux disease. However, if an ulcer or other condition that can cause similar problems are found then it may be possible to discount acid reflux disease.
3 – Biopsies can be used to find the existence of cancer.. But it Can Not be used for evidence of acid reflux disease, but other causes of symptoms can be found.
4 – Review of the throat and larynx is an approach that is sometimes considered for the diagnosis of acid reflux disease. Inflammation of either can indicate that a patient has acid reflux disease, but there are a number of other problems that can cause these symptoms as well.
5 – Esophageal acid testing is probably the most accurate way to test for acid reflux disease, but is most annoying as well. A tube is placed through the nose and esophagus where it remains for 24 hours. This tube has a sensor on the end and measures the amount of reflux generated over 24 hours.
