Do You Know What The Causes of Reflux Are?

There are many causes of reflux, to discover what they are, and it is always worthwhile to try and find what may be causing your reflux, before you turn to a reflux medication or look for reflux help.

There are tens of millions of people worldwide that suffer from some form of reflux, and in many cases this is often a condition that a person has to live with for the rest of their life.

Acid is formed in the stomach to help the breakdown of food. Heartburn or acid reflux occurs when acid begins to climb up the esophagus. Acid travelling up your esophagus can result in it being damaged.

The most common causes of reflux is due to the damage that the LES can suffer. The LES is like a small lid which is attached to the bottom of the esophagus and the top of the stomach. The food that you eat will make its way down the esophagus, it goes through the LES, which then closes to stop the acid in your stomach from escaping.

A weak or damaged LES is unable to shut properly and thus cannot stop acid from escaping. The sensation of burning that you get is known as reflux or heartburn. The common solution to this problem is usually to take some form of medication that allows less acid production in the stomach, or something that will dilute the acid. The cause of the reflux will not go away, but the symptoms are eased. This is one of the most common causes of reflux.

Another cause for reflux can be due to a hiattal hernia. What this type of hernia does is that it shifts the position of the LES. The LES sits next to your diaphragm. Having a hiattal hernia results in the LES being pushed up towards your chest. This becomes problematic because the diaphragm and LES are no longer working in unison. As these are now in different places, they will not work as well.

You may not be aware of this but smoking is one of the major causes of reflux. Smoking can clog up the esophagus, and it can take a few hours after smoking a cigarette for this to right itself in the esophagus.

It is after you have eaten, that reflux occurs. The trick to avoid acid reflux problems as much as possible is to eat small meals. The more that you eat, the more acid your stomach will create to help digest the food. Try not to eat anything a couple of hours before going to sleep. While you are on your feet, the acid will be kept down because of gravity. However when you lie down after a meal, the effects of gravity are minimised and the acid will slowly start to flow up the esophagus.

All these are regular causes of reflux.