Acid Reflux

Asthma and Acid Reflux: Any Connection?

Many people think that asthma and acid reflux are the same or somehow interconnected. But are they?

Asthma is a well-known illness accompanied with breathing difficulties, with common signs such as wheezy breathlessness, airflow resistance, and occurrence of frequent allergies, stimuli hyper responsiveness, and nocturnal episodes.

On the other hand, acid reflux is a disease that happens when stomach acids cause irritation to the esophageal lining. If a person encounters heartburn twice a week, he should get a diagnosis to see if he has acid reflux or not.

As said at the start of the article, these two diseases seem to be interrelated, but the truth is there is no proof proving they really are. But, it’s true that acid reflux can worsen one’s asthma. How?

If left untreated the acids will travel all the way to the mouth – which means that the acids will pass by the lungs first.

Asthmatic people are recommended to make sure not to have acid reflux, but they are the most prone to it. This was shown in a research conducted by putting acid into asthmatic people’s gullets, which in turn worsened their asthma. And so they summed up that people with asthma experience acid reflux more often. Furthermore they said that this was caused by the chest changes brought by big pressure each time the person breathes. The high pressure is said to force the stomach contents to travel the wrong path.

Studies regarding the connection of the two diseases are still continually being done because researchers thought that if acid reflux is effectively treated, then the other disease must also go away. But they were disappointed by the results.

So if you have asthma, and you think that you also have acid reflux, then it would be better to consult a good doctor. Never take medications without consulting your doctor.

The doctor can give you medicines including adrenaline and hydrocortisones. These medications act by preventing asthma attacks. If you can prevent asthma, then you might also prevent acid reflux.

Asthma and acid reflux are indeed connected in a way. The best things you should therefore do involve getting a diagnosis and proper treatment to get rid of them or prevent them from getting much worse.

Tags: Acid, Asthma, Connection, Reflux

This entry was posted on Monday, August 30th, 2010 at 10:48 am and is filed under articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.