What is Acid Reflux?
To find the answers, first you need to understand the following:
1. The pipe like structure between our oral cavity and the stomach is called esophagus (oesophagus). In plain English we call it food pipe.
2. Stomach is a bag like structure in the upper part of the abdomen which stores the food we eat and some initial digestion takes place with the help of enzymes and acid.
3. There is a ring of muscle at the junction of the esophagus and the stomach called as Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). This sphincter acts as a valve and allows food from esophagus to the stomach but not the vice versa.
4. The stomach has a protective lining which prevents damage to itself from the acid which is produced by it. The esophagus does not have a similar protective lining and is damaged when and if the acid from the stomach ‘refluxes’ into the esophagus.
5. If the lower esophageal sphincter fails to close completely or opens frequently, it causes reflux of the acid into the esophagus.
Now you can understand that the acid injury to the lower part of esophagus (in severe cases, upper part as well) gives rise to the symptoms of pain, burning sensation, bloating and regurgitation of acid into throat. This condition is called Gastro-esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
