Stats of People With Acid Reflux Disease

Acid reflux disease is the result of your stomach acid "refluxing" back into your esophagus. Normally, stomach acids stay in your stomach where it is needed to help your body digest consumed foods. One of the symptom of acid reflux disease is repeatedly having heartburn. If the disorder is left untreated, acid reflux disease can cause permanent damage to your esophagus.

The Stats

• According to researchers at the University of North Carolina, 19 million people suffer from acid reflux disease each year. The treatment costs associated with this disease are over 9 billion dollars. Research conducted by The National Institute of Health, revealed that more than 60 million people suffer with heartburn associated with acid reflux disease once a month; and 25 million people are daily sufferers of the disorder. In addition, acid reflux disease affects 50 percent of pregnant women and 25 pecent of expecting women are daily sufferers.

Identification

• Acid reflux disease is also referred to as: gastroesophageal reflux disease, or just GERD. Acid reflux disease symptoms include frequent heartburn, food regurgitation, trouble swallowing, feeling of a lump in your throat, belching or bad taste in your mouth.

GERD in Children

• In most cases, gastroesophageal reflux disease is an adult disorder. However, babies and children are not exempt. Spitting up is not uncommon for babies, but regurgitating should stop before the baby is 12 to 18 months. If not, and the spitting up is coupled with breathing problems, not eating and little weight gain, the child will probably be treated for GERD.

Significance

• GERD is fairly common in adults. According to The Merck Manual, 30 percent to 40 percent of adults will suffer from GERD in their lifetime. Certain lifestyles changes can improve or cure the disease. For example, avoiding acidic foods and fruits will decrease the amount of acid in the stomach. Eliminating coffee, teaand soft drinks from your diet will also improve acid reflux disease. Eating smaller meals can improve GERD because the stomach will be more successful at digesting smaller portions.

Esophagitis

• Your stomach lining is equipped to handle stomach acid; however, your esophagus is not. The esophagus is a muscular tube that connects the mouth to the stomach; it is responsible for pushing the food into the stomach to be digested. An occasional bout with acid reflux should not cause any damage to your esophagus. However, if the stomach acid consistently escapes from the stomach into the esophagus, the acid will eventually injure it. This condition is referred to as esophagitis.