Causes

Known Causes of Acid Reflux

Posted by 24 Mar, 2009

But, there is no consensus among scientists on the real causes of acid reflux. It would always be a smart thing to go through the known side effects of any medication you consume so as to see if acid reflux is one of them.

As is common knowledge, acid reflux occurs when stomach acids goes up in to the esophagus and burns the surface.

But, there is no consensus among scientists on the real causes of acid reflux. It would always be a smart thing to go through the known side effects of any medication you consume so as to see if acid reflux is one of them.

Some of the commonly known reasons are discussed below.

Esophageal sphincter has low pressure

The low pressure on esophageal sphincter can cause the stomach fluids to go up. Even if scientists are not sure about the reasons for this, they have seen this condition existing in many patients. Some of the known causes for the reduction in pressure are pregnancy, anti-depressants, blood pressure medications etc. As this type of acid reflux is seen in a lot of patients who do not fit any of these groups, scientists are still unable to fully comprehend the reasons for this reduction in sphincter pressure.

Pregnancy

Pregnant women are known to suffer from acid reflux. The increase in hormone levels during pregnancy causes the sphincter pressure to go down. Along with this, the increasing size of the fetus is exerting added pressure on the woman’s stomach and thus increases chances of acid reflux. But this condition is temporary and will be gone after childbirth.

Hiatal hernia

Hiatal hernia is a problem faced by roughly half of the American population. Most of them do not have acid reflux. But there are some who are suffering from hiatal hernia are known to be suffering from severe acid reflux condition. As hernia patients’ top portion of stomach moves upwards in to their chest, they feel severe acid reflux.

Gastroparesis

In those who suffer from this condition, their stomach contents are not processed and sent to the small intestine in time. As stomach acids are staying in the stomach for a much longer time, they are bound to reflux up in to the esophagus.

Obesity

Obese people tend to feel too much pressure in their mid section. As there is more pressure, the stomach acids can go in to the esophagus and cause acid reflux.

Bisphosphonates

These medicines are used for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis seen commonly in women. Many of these women are known to feel acid reflux. These medicines are known to cause irritation in people’s esophagus and this can feel like acid reflux.

Lifestyle

Consumption of food items like chocolate, coffee, alcohol etc is known to increase acid reflux in some people. For some others acid reflux inducing food items could be some thing totally different. If you avoid such food items, that can reduce the problems. Smokers who stop smoking are also known to feel lesser bouts of acid reflux occurrence.

[tags]Acid Reflux Causes[/tags]

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