Severe Acid Reflux Treatments

Severe acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), is a serious stomach disorder that can lead to problems swallowing, asthma, chronic cough, hoarseness and cancer in the esophagus if left untreated. Treatments vary from over-the-counter remedies to prescription medications to invasive measures. Natural treatments can be helpful in less severe cases; chronic acid reflux may require additional medications and surgery.

Natural Treatments

• Severe acid reflux occurs when partially digested foods and stomach acids travel back up the esophagus rather than down to the small intestine for additional digestion. Occasional bouts of acid reflux that become frequent heartburn is considered severe acid reflux or GERD.

  Natural treatments help balance stomach acid. In addition to drinking water to dilute stomach acid, natural foods such as the wormwood herb artemisia asiatica and fresh crushed garlic also control stomach acid. Drinking tea made with slippery elm bark coats the digestive tract, although there is no proven scientific research. It is available in powder form.

  Eat foods containing probiotics, the friendly bacteria, as another natural remedy for severe acid reflux. Yogurt, buttermilk and other probiotic foods are effective for heartburn and have beneficial nutritional properties that aid in digestion, though research is inconclusive.

Medications

• Over-the-counter and prescription medications are available to treat severe acid reflux. Antacids as well as acid blockers, that are either histamine receptor antagonists or proton pump inhibitors, or a combination antacid and acid blocker are non-prescription remedies.

  Stronger prescription medications are needed if over-the-counter treatments are ineffective. Consult your doctor about options such as histamine-2 blockers, proton pump inhibitors, promotility agents and prokinetic agents, all of which aid in digestion.

Surgery

• Surgery is considered in cases where both over-the-counter and prescription medications fail to properly treat severe acid reflux. The Stretta procedure is a common non-invasive surgery that uses high frequency radio waves to tighten the lower esophageal sphincter---the muscle at the top of the stomach---to prevent stomach acid from going up the esophagus.

  Laparoscopic antireflux surgery also tightens the esophageal sphincter, by wrapping the upper part of the stomach around the lower part of the esophagus.

  Surgery is required when severe acid reflux causes esophageal cancer.

  The Mayo Clinic continues to examine the most effective surgical procedures for treating severe acid reflux and evaluates patients as candidates for GERD surgery based on the technique that is most advantageous for each case.