Best GERD / Chronic Acid Reflux Treatment Hospital in Hyderabad

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or chronic acid reflux is a long-term condition where acid from the stomach comes up into the esophagus, a muscular tube connecting the stomach with the throat (pharynx). Flowing back up acid into the esophagus causes irritation to the esophagus lining. 

GERD is the chronic form of heartburn and acid reflux. If you have symptoms of acid reflux more than twice a week, you might have a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Read More: Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis and Treatment

Acidic taste in mouth, Heartburn (usually after eating, which might be worse at night), Regurgitation of food or sour liquid, Sensation of a lump in your throat are the most common symptoms of Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). 

Pain with difficulty swallowing, bloating, gas and belching, chest pain, increased salivation, nausea, bloating, gas and belching, chronic cough, new or worsening asthma are less common symptoms.

In 1925, the classic symptoms of GERD were first described, when Feldman and Friedenwald commented on heartburn and its possible relationship to a hiatal hernia. In 1934 gastroenterologist Asher Winkelstein described acid reflux and attributed the symptoms to stomach acid.

Directly GERD cannot cause fever, but if there is an aspiration into the trachea (windpipe, it is the passage leading from your pharynx to the lungs) and the lungs, it can cause aspiration pneumonitis / aspiration pneumonia and cause fever. And again, shortness of breath can also occur because of aspiration pneumonitis. There's actually a chance of blood in the mucus because of repeated vomiting and retching due to that some sort of a tear in the lower oesophageal region as well as the sphincter area. Then it can lead to some sort of streaky hemoptysis. Of course there's no correlation or relation with GERD and heart attacks, but it can mimic. GERD causing pain in the chest can mimic a heart attack, but it doesn't cause a heart attack and reverse also heart attack can mimic like a GERD so both should be screened and diagnose properly.

There is no connection or relation between the GERD and pancreatitis both are independent disease and conditions. Because pancreas is far away as well as lower esophageal sphincter in the upper part of the gut. So there's no connection with GERD and pancreatitis.

Read More: Pancreatitis - Acute and Chronic: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment

This is mainly because of the structural abnormality of the lower esophageal sphincter. When the lower esophageal sphincter doesn't contract after each meal there will be relaxation of the sphincter and the reflux of the acid from the stomach continuing to the esophagus. Apart from that, the angle of insertion into the stomach as well as the amount of time it is taking to get clear from the esophagus. All these causes GERD.

GERD basically is not dangerous, but the complications of GERD are dangerous because the repeated GERD or chronic acid reflux can cause aspiration, aspiration pneumonitis, severe shortness of breath and admitting into an ICU also, and a longstanding complication, is constant exposure to the stomach acid can lead to changes in the lower esophageal as well as the sphincter and lead to Barrett's esophagus and sometimes lead to malignancy. So this is a dangerous complication because cancer is one of the known complications of GERD, those percentages are less. Apart from that, repeated reflux can also cause stricture formation in the esophageal region.

GERD as we know the structural defect is there. It is not a continuous ongoing treatment. Medically, following the diet restrictions like avoiding fatty foods, fried foods, oily foods, spicy foods, smoking and alcohol consumption. Apart from that we have a proton-pump inhibitor which can also help reducing the reflux and the acidity of the area. But this is not permanent because there simply taken continuously. 

Anatomical deformity has to treat and corrected surgically or endoscopically. There are some techniques like fundoplication and set a technique where you know we break the esophageal sphincter and then wrap up the lower esophageal sphincter region by the stomach fold. This helps in curing it permanently.

By active treatment as well as by strict diet restriction, it takes only two weeks for it to heal, but it has to be maintained continuously by following the dos and don’ts of GERD.

Avoiding smoking, alcohol consumption and chewing tobacco and then the spicy foods, citric acid fruits, oily foods, ginger, garlic and heavy food consumption, fried things, and junk foods should be avoided. 

So these things if you avoid the rest of the foods can be taken. In GERD we have to take small, closely spaced meals in place of large meals. So eating five times in a day and avoid lying down after food for two hours these main things can prevent chronic acid reflux due to the GERD.

Read More: 8 foods to avoid with Acid Reflux and follow healthy lifestyle

Hiatal hernia is a displacement of the gastroesophageal junction from the abdominal cavity into the thorax and chest, whereas GERD is a relaxed abnormal laxity of the lower esophageal sphincter. So GERD can be there without hiatal hernia, but hiatal hernia will always have GERD. And if when a GERD patient is having hiatal hernia then the reflux symptoms are much more severe, and that actual medical treatment is almost similar. But surgical treatment, it was much more helpful for the hiatal hernia, because the hiatal hernia is pulled down and then there's a fundoplication and preventing the hernia to go up as well as also controlling the GERD.