GERD, gastroesophageal reflux disease, is also known as acid reflux.
It is when the liquid contents in the stomach come back up, or regurgitate, back into the esophagus.
The contents, often including bile and pepsin, can sometimes irritate and damage the lining of the esophagus.
Once someone has GERD, it can be life-long.
If a person's symptoms are constant, they may need to continue constant treatment, but others that have intermittent symptoms may be able to treat when the symptoms flare.
Heartburn is basically the same as GERD, but it may only happen occasionally and may require treatment when the person has symptoms.
GERD seems to be more chronic in nature and heartburn after eating the spicy chili dog before bed.
However, if the heartburn continues then something more chronic like GERD may be developing.
Gastritis is inflammation of the stomach, either chronic or acute, especially of the mucous membranes of the stomach.
Gastritis can happen over time or occur suddenly.
Often times, if severe or untreated, can lead to stomach ulcers.
If the condition is chronic, you may need to get an upper GI series or an endoscopy.
The upper GI is an x-ray examination of the pharynx, esophagus, stomach and even part of the small intestine.
You may be required to drink a contrast called barium.
This type of x-ray is able to see the organs in motion to help evaluate if there are any structural problems.
An endoscopy is a procedure where a lighted, flexible endoscope is inserted through the mouth to view the upper digestive tract.
You will most likely be given a sedative through IV during this procedure.
With all of these conditions, there are things that can be done to treat the symptoms and often times reverse the condition.
The main thing is lifestyle change.
These changes can often times have big results.
Elevate the head of the bed by putting blocks under the feet of the bed at the head, or use a wedge to sleep on.
Elevating only the head does not help; the esophagus needs to be raised above the stomach, so elevating only the head does not change the esophagus.
Smoking will need to be stopped as well.
It is necessary to change diet as well.
Eating smaller meals will often help, as well as not eating 2-3 hours before going to bed.
Certain foods may need to be eliminated or reduced, like chocolate, peppermint, alcohol, caffeine drinks and carbonated drinks.
Other problems are fatty foods and spicy foods.
Some people also have problems when consuming acidic foods like juice, citrus and tomatoes.
Some other things that can be tried are over-the-counter antacids as they neutralize the acid in the stomach.
This tends to only be a brief treatment, however.
Histamine antagonists like Tagamet, Zantac (ranitidine), and Pepcid often help symptoms of reflux, but will not heal any damage done or inflammation.
Proton pump inhibitors, like Prilosec (Omeprazole), Prevacid and Nexium block the secretion of acid into the stomach, so these can help the symptoms of GERD or reflux, but will also help protect the lining of the esophagus and help heal inflammation or damage.
Reglan, a pro-motility mediation, is sometimes used to stimulate the muscles of the GI tract, which may help empty the stomach sooner and strengthen contractions of the GI tract.
There are many natural products that can be used as well, such as ginger.
The vitamin store can offer things like chewable natural antacids and digestive enzymes, which help digest food and relieve acid reflux.
If all of these methods have proved unhelpful, then the doctor may find it necessary to perform surgery, but this is usually a last resort.