Gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD) causes many painful symptoms of suffering patients. These symptoms include,
- Chest pain
- Difficulty swallowing
- Texture trapped in your throat
- Ho voice when rising
- Choking feeling,
- Bad bad smell that you can not eliminate whatever you do
- Sustained dry hacking cough
Let's see some ways in which GERD was diagnosed.
Usually your doctor begins by prescribing a series of acid inhibitors experimentally and seeing if they do that trick. If the medication is effective, the diagnosis is often assumed to be GERD. Otherwise, other medical exams are necessary to investigate the cause of the symptoms.
One of the more general tests of GERD, Upper endoscopy (Esophagogastric duodenoscopy, or more simply referred to as EGD).
In EGD, physicians use endoscopes to closely observe the inner wall of the esophagus and the duodenum and stomach, the beginning of the small intestine.
Endoscopes resemble thin, light tubes and are more flexible as they move more easily. With this, the doctor can easily see both the wall of the stomach and the tissue covering the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract.
In addition to EGD, physicians sometimes Stomach or esophagus biopsy It is to eliminate cancer as cause of heartburn.
Another procedure, which is generally ordered, . This test is quite uncomfortable for patients. Finally a thin tube with a sensor is sent under the nose and throat and remains for the length of the examination
This procedure helps measure the amount of acid "refluxed" into the esophagus and how rapid it is rising. Let's take a closer look at this procedure.
To begin the procedure, the doctor inserts the tube into the patient's nose and inserts the throat delicately until it enters the esophagus. As its name suggests, this test spans 24 hours. The sensor tube is connected to a Walkman-like device that measures the time of arrival and the duration of the acid from the stomach to the esophagus.
The patient is responsible for recording and recording the symptoms. At the end of the 24 hours, analyze the recorded data and pay close attention to the frequency and severity of the symptoms.
PH monitoring tests are typically used for patients experiencing recurrent heartburn symptoms, but endoscopy results are normal, and acid suppression therapy does not reduce alleviation.
Barium X-ray It may be used to diagnose heartburn patients with specific symptoms. The patient takes a drink that has barium and the liquid covers the wall of the stomach and the esophagus. X-rays are then taken to aid in identifying hiatal hernias, erosions or strictures, and ulcers.
Sometimes I see the esophagus emptying food and liquid with barium x-rays. Still, barium X-rays are not very effective for diagnosis of GERD. For these reasons, it is often combined with other diagnostic procedures to obtain appropriate diagnosis.
