Acid Reflex or Heartburn?

Acid Reflex or Heartburn? 9 Questions to ask yourself!

Although no stomach pain is easy to ignore, you may want to know if your pains are caused by heartburn or gastro oesophageal reflux, also known as GERD or simply acid reflux.

If it is heartburn that only occurs occasionally, you may be able to treat it with over-the-counter drugs or some changes in your lifestyle diet but  for the more debilitating condition of acid reflux, a reflux wedge pillow can be a very effective solution.

To distinguish whether you have heartburn or GERD simply answer the following questions:

1)  Have you had persistent symptoms for two weeks which cannot be relieved with over-the-counter medicines?

2) Is your heartburn continuously getting worse?

3) Are you unable to sleep because of the pain in your stomach?

4) Can it be difficult to swallow because you get the feeling of heartburn?

5) Does the feeling of heartburn continue even after over-the-counter drugs?

6)  If you are asthmatic, do you feel symptoms after meals, lying down, working out?

7) Do your asthma symptoms flair up at night?

8) Are you losing weight for no apparent reason or has your appetite vanished?

9) Are you unable to do your daily routine because heartburn is affecting you?

If the answer to any or many of these questions is yes, you need to see consult your doctor. This is most likely not simple heartburn. If left untreated, you could end with much worse medical issues such as narrowing of the oesophagus or even worse still Barret’s oesophagus, a pre-cancerous condition.

Is there a symptom that we’ve missed that we could add to the list?

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