Sore Throat caused by Acid Reflux

Acid reflux causes the acidic juices in your stomach to travel upwards in to esophagus, lungs and some times even your mouth.

For understanding how this disease works, you need to understand the structure of our digestive system. Lower esophageal sphincter is a circular section of muscle which is responsible for separating the stomach from the esophagus. Once food reaches stomach, lower esophageal sphincter closes in order to prevent the food and acidic juices from traveling upwards. In patients with acid reflux, lower esophageal sphincter do not close properly and lets the juices flow in to the esophagus.

The contents of the stuff which moves up the esophagus is acidic in nature due to the presence of digestive acids in them whose purpose is to help in digestion. These acidic fluids cause inflammation on the throat lining giving the patient a sore throat. This is one of the symptoms of acid reflux.

Sore throat could be a result of other conditions as well. But not the sore throat condition with pus on tonsil and if the patient feels like spitting a lot. The patient may have problem in breathing as the larynx or pharynx could constrict too.

The pain and other associated problems could be reduced with the help of simple home remedies. Gargling is one such process where you gargle warm salt water in your mouth. Drinking enough water also helps in the healing process. Taking rest by sleeping some extra hours will also help in quicker healing. Ice creams and cold drinks are not good for sore throat. You can use vaporizers or humidifiers to soothe the pain in the throat. Sucking lolly pops and chewing gums helps in increased production of saliva which in turn helps in healing sore throat. The bicarbonates which are present in saliva helps in neutralizing the acids.

If home remedies do not give the desired effect for your sore throat condition, available medical treatments can be used. If you have any additional symptoms like breathing difficulty, dehydration or severe pain, then medication is necessary. If you suspect that viral or bacterial infection is developed, then you should consult a qualified physician and take antibiotics. Incase of the occurrence of the rare disease rheumatic fever, antibiotics need to be taken. In case of severe sore throat conditions, corticosteroids could be used. They have anti-inflammatory effect.

There are some precautionary measures and medicines available to reduce the frequency of acid reflux and sore throat. One method is called gravity in which the person had to stay upright as much as possible. This will keep the stomach acids down and prevents regurgitation.

A healthy diet will help in reducing acid reflux. Acid reflux usually happens after a meal, especially a heavy meal. Taking smaller portions of dinner and taking dinner three hours before bed time helps in controlling acid reflux. A smaller meal can be digested much faster than a heavy one. The patient have a lower chance of regurgitating if they lie down.

There are some medications available with different purposes. Some of them are designed to neutralize the acids in stomach. While some others are designed to stop the production of acid in stomach by controlling the actions of histamine.

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