About Acid Reflux Disease And Barret’s Esophagus

Acid reflux disease, otherwise known as heartburn, and gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD afflicts more than 15 million Americans every day.  Anyone, regardless of age, is susceptible to acid reflux disease with older people tending to be more seriously affected.  Acid reflux disease is the condition one gets when fluid from the stomach regurgitates back to the esophagus.  

This fluid that back flowed from the stomach are mostly acid and some mixture of pepsin and bile.  These fluids, especially the acid being the most harmful, are what irritate and poses some threat to the esophageal tissue.  One can get esophagitis, or the inflammation of the esophagus lining from this regurgitated stomach liquids.  Prolonged or chronic acid reflux disease can further complicate the condition and may result to Barret’s Esophagus.  A more serious threat after Barret’s esophagus is the esophageal cancer.

Statistics show that thirteen thousand people have been diagnosed of this cancer each year and at least twelve thousand of them die of esophageal cancer.  The rate of survival from esophageal cancer is very low.  Acid reflux disease is known as the number one risk that could develop to Barret’s Esophagus and this, in some cases but not always, can develop to esophageal cancer.

Chronic acid reflux disease that is not controlled can become Barret’s esophagus.  The stomach acid that irritates and eventually damages the lining of the esophagus (these are the squamous cells) can turn these cell linings into cancerous specialized columnar cells.  While this could happen to anyone, this usually happens to people over forty with chronic or regular occurrences of acid reflux disease for at least more than five years.

Symptoms of heartburn, besides the usual burning pain in the chest, include difficulty in swallowing.  Curiously, some people do not experience any symptoms at all.  Due to the tender lining of the esophagus’ constant exposure to stomach acid creates scar tissue.  This scar tissue becomes thick and hard that the esophagus becomes narrow, thus the difficulty in swallowing and drinking water.

MEDICAL TREATMENTS

Common medications for heartburn include:

•     Antacids – these products are readily available and can be bought over-the-counter from any pharmacy or convenient store.  They are either in liquid form or in tablets.  While these antacids are mostly for relief and they can act quickly to alleviate the burning pain one experiences from acid reflux disease, they are not effective for prevention and for severe cases of heartburn.
•     Medicines intended to minimize the recurrence of acid reflux – One of the causes of heartburn is the relaxing of the lower esophageal sphincter that they are not closed enough to prevent the regurgitating of stomach acid.  There are medications that are intended to either improve the capacity of the stomach to empty itself or to tighten or strengthen the barrier between the esophagus and the stomach.  While these medications could be useful, medical experts agree that potent acid blockers could do the job better.
•     Medicines intended to prevent acid production – the key to the efficiency of this medication is its capacity to decrease the output of stomach acid.  They may not produce fast relief for someone already suffering acid reflux disease but they work better at preventing acid reflux disease for several hours at a time.  These can either be bought over-the-counter or by prescription for the more potent ones.