Acid reflux in chronic form is known as GERD. If acid reflux symptoms occur more than twice a week then it is classified as chronic. This type of frequent condition causes permanent damage to the esophagus and can lead to cancer.

During an acid reflux attack, people experience a burning sensation or heartburn in the chest area. Some other symptoms include:

• Cough
• Sore Throat
• Bitter Taste in Back of Throat
• Sour Taste in Mouth
• Pressure and Burning That Extends Up the Breastbone

WHO DEVELOPS ACID REFLUX?

According to Medical News Today, more acid reflux symptoms are caused by lifestyle factors, some including but not limited to:

• Obesity
• Smoking, whether actively or passively
• Low levels of physical exercise
• Certain medications including drugs for asthma, calcium channel blockers, antihistamines, painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants
• Pregnancy- 50% of women experience acid reflux in last trimester
• Food Choices and Habits
  • Caffeine
  • Alcohol
  • High intake of table salt
  • Diet low in dietary fiber
  • Large meals
  • Chocolate
  • Carbonated drinks
  • Acidic juices
  • Lying down within 2-3 hours of eating a meal

One cause of acid reflux that is not preventable is a hiatal hernia. This type of hernia is when there is a hole in the diaphragm that allows the upper part of the stomach to enter the chest cavity.

Unfortunately, acid reflux is not isolated to one age group, gender, or other demographic. It can and does affect all types of people groups.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF ACID REFLUX?

Below is a list of statistics depicting the common development of acid reflux and GERD:

• 1 in 14 Americans experience acid reflux symptoms
• 1 in 5 of adult males and females in the U.S. develop GERD
  • People with chronic acid reflux have a 50% chance of permanent damage to their esophagus
  • Those with GERD have 43 times the risk of esophageal cancer
  • 15,000 Americans die of esophageal cancer each year

HOW DO YOU TREAT ACID REFLUX & GERD?

Many of the causes of both acid reflux and GERD are lifestyle choices and behaviors. Because of this, there are many alternative ways to treat these conditions without medication.

Evaluate Your Eating Habits

If you experience symptoms of acid reflux, then one solution is to track eating habits. If you typically eat quickly, or eat large meals try to slow down and eat sparingly. If the stomach is too full, you are more likely to have more reflux in the esophagus and experience painful symptoms. Avoiding or limiting intake of certain foods can also help alleviate symptoms of acid reflux and GERD. Mint, fatty foods, spicy foods, tomatoes, onions, garlic, coffee, tea, chocolate and alcohol all can worsen symptoms of acid reflux. Specifically, carbonated drinks should be limited if not eliminated because they cause burps; burps send acid right back into the esophagus. As previously mentioned, lying down after eating can be destructive. By the simple laws of gravity, standing or sitting up for a period after eating helps hold acid down in the stomach; this means no meals within three hours of going to bed.

Watch Your Weight

Increased weight can decrease the pressure in the esophagus that holds the lower esophageal sphincter closed after eating. This will lead to reflux and heartburn. By losing the necessary weight, the muscle that supports the sphincter won’t be weakened/

Stop Smoking

Nicotine relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter the esophagus to remain open and cause acid reflux. Quit smoking.

Look in Your Medicine Cabinet

Specific medications including anti-inflammatory painkillers and antidepressants relax the sphincter, allowing it to remain open. Other medications can irritate the esophagus and cause similar symptoms.

Try OTC or Prescribed Medicines

Some symptoms can be relieved with antacids or other over-the-counter medications. Typically, these medications are proton pump inhibitors, and they work by reducing the amount of acid in the stomach.

Use Inclined Sleep Therapy

Many people who suffer from acid reflux report that their symptoms worsen at night. This can be treated by raising the upper body position; this is the most effective way to treat acid reflux at night. Although not curative, pain symptoms are alleviated after incorporating inclined sleep therapy. Sleeping at an incline allows the body to heal itself and reduces pain throughout the body. Inclined sleep therapy is a simple, personalized and proven technique to treat a wide variety of ailments. Additional benefits include, reducing mouth breathing snoring, drooling and reducing shortness of breath without pills, which comes with their own problems. Not to mention, inclined sleeping can also just be more comfortable.

• • According to the Sleep Foundation:
    • “When lying down, gravity no longer helps keep stomach acid down making it easier to reflux to occur...decreased swallowing during sleep reduces an important force that pushes stomach acid downward...saliva can help neutralize stomach, but production of saliva is reduced during deeper stages of sleep.”
  • According to Sleep Score Labs:
    • Back sleep is the worst type of sleep for those who suffer acid reflux because when the back is flat, acid can escape the stomach and flow freely.
    • Inclining both the neck and head allows an extra boost from gravity to push any escaping acid back to the stomach.
  • Lauren Gerson, a gastroenterologist at the CA Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco reports, “If people have nighttime symptoms, then I recommend that they put a ‘bed wedge’ that’s six to eight inches high under their pillow.”
  • Mercola describes in his research, “The Surprising Benefits of Inclined Bed Therapy”, that in addition to treating acid reflux symptoms, inclined sleep therapy:
    • Improves blood circulation, metabolism, respiratory, neurological and immune functions
    • Eases symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s, diabetes, glaucoma, migraines, multiple sclerosis, sleep apnea, edema and varicose veins

Based on doctor recommendations on how to alleviate acid reflux symptoms, Contour developed a new line of Inflatable Wedges that target digestive issues. Specifically, the Inflatable Acid Reflux Reflux Wedge that provides the ideal incline to help with acid reflux and GERD symptoms.

This wedge is 8” high as suggested by Dr. Lauren Gerson’s research with sleep treatments for acid reflux. The wedge is also 48” long allowing for it to not only support the head, but the additional length also provides stability as to not allow the diaphragm to bend. Traditional wedges are not as wide or long, making sleep positions restrictive. The Inflatable Acid Reflux Relief Wedge provides extra room for a variety of sleep positions including back, side and stomach.