Whenever we eat, chew and swallow the food, it passes from our throat to the stomach through the esophagus, which is hollow muscular tube whose purpose is to transport the food from throat to the stomach. At the end of the esophagus and the entrance of stomach, there is a valve which is actually a ring of muscle fibers called as Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The function of LES is to close soon after the food has entered into the stomach and prevents the stomach acids – which are necessary for food digestion – going back to the esophagus because they can cause serious damage to the lining of esophagus. Sometimes LES doesn’t close too tightly as it should be or remains open which results in the leakage of stomach acidic contents back into the esophagus and this backward action of stomach acids is called as Acid Reflux. If this condition continues for more than two weeks then it becomes chronic and this severe form of Acid Reflux is called Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD).
WHAT ARE THE 6 SILENT SIGNS OF ACID REFLUX THAT YOU SHOULD KNOW?
The most common sign and symptom of Acid Reflux is heartburn which is a burning pain that moves from your stomach to the chest or abdomen or even towards your mouth. But there are some other signs of Acid Reflux that we normally ignore in our everyday life and didn’t take them seriously which results in worsening the condition. Let’s see the 6 silent signs of the condition:
