How to Heal GERD

Chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD can severely erode your esophagus and place you at risk for cancer of the throat, mouth and esophagus. Signs of reflux disease include nausea, heartburn, vomiting and coughing. But with treatment, you can reduce symptoms and reverse throat damage.

Things You'll Need

• Medication

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Instructions

• 1

  Stand up to relieve symptoms. GERD is common after eating, and lying down usually triggers symptoms. Keep your head upright and stand up to relieve symptoms such as nausea, heartburn and coughing.

• 2

  Raise the head of your bed. Control symptoms of reflux while sleeping by positioning an object such as a wood block beneath your bedpost to elevate the head six to nine inches.

• 3

  Refrain from exercising after eating. Engaging in physical activity immediately after eating prompts reflux. Wait at least one hour after eating.

• 4

  Shed extra pounds. Obesity is another GERD trigger. Maintain a healthy body weight to stop and heal the damage caused by gastroesophageal reflux disease. Exercise a minimum of 90 minutes a week and lower your fat intake

• 5

  Identify foods that increase acid production. Diet is a major factor in GERD. Certain foods such as fried foods, fatty foods, spicy foods and acidic foods encourage the production of stomach acid. Remove these foods from your diet to stop reflux.

• 6

  Reduce acid by giving up smoking. Smoking also impacts the production of acid in the stomach and triggers the back flow of acid. Stop smoking to relieve reflux and reverse throat damage.

• 7

  Fight GERD with medication. If unable to heal GERD with lifestyle changes, take medications such as OTC antacids and prescription acid reducers to control reflux and heal the esophagus. Effective drugs include Prevacid, Protonix and Tums