Common Symptoms of GERD in Women

The symptoms of GERD can be a menace to deal with, especially so if you’re a woman. What many women pass off as recurring bouts of heartburn may actually be a chronic medical condition that should be treated appropriately. If you suspect that you may be suffering from something a little more than everyday heartburn, read on to learn about the symptoms of GERD in women and how you can find relief!

What is GERD?

What we commonly call “GERD” actually stands for gastro esophageal reflux disease. It is a condition in which one suffers from chronic heartburn even when there seems to be no obvious trigger, such as eating a spicy meal. GERD primarily affects the band-like bunch of muscles located at the bottom of the esophagus, called the lower esophageal sphincter (or LES for short). The LES has serves an important but overlooked purpose, which is to open when food needs to enter the stomach and close back up in order to keep the food and stomach acid inside the stomach.

When an individual suffers from GERD, the LES is forced to relax or opens when it should not. This allows acid (and sometimes even food particles) to enter back into the esophagus where the tissues become irritated by the acid. If GERD is not controlled or is allowed to go on for a long period of time, the individual could suffer from tissue erosion.

Gerd in wowenSymptoms of GERD in Women

The symptoms of GERD can vary depending on the girl’s situation. For instance, pregnant women may suffer from varying and severe symptoms whereas the typical woman may only experience a handful of tell-tale symptoms. The most common symptoms of GERD, in women and men alike, are heartburn and throat irritation. Heartburn occurs as a burning or cool, liquid-like sensation beginning at the base of the sternum where one’s rib cage splits. The burning is then likely to move up the chest where it becomes an irritation in the throat. Coughing may develop as a side effect of throat irritation. The urge to vomit may also occur due to acid shooting up the esophagus and may be exacerbated by the sour taste of acid.

Dyspepsia is one of the more common symptoms of GERD in women. Dyspepsia basically stands for general stomach upset. This may lead to nausea, stomach cramps, bloating and burping, and even flatulence. Dyspepsia is most likely to occur soon after you eat.

Treating GERD

Treating the symptoms of GERD in women isn’t always a straightforward process. There are varying degrees of severity that must be considered as well as physical and conditional differences. To begin, you may want to start off with remedies that you can try out at home. These are less likely to produce side effects and can be much cheaper than over the counter or prescription medication. Fat free dairy products can be a great way to neutralize the acid in your stomach. Milk is naturally high in calcium and works quickly to soothe irritated throat tissue and cancel out the pH levels in your stomach. If you don’t care much for milk products then you might try mixing half a teaspoon of baking soda in four ounces of water. This is a great remedy for heartburn although it can lead to gassiness. Other home remedies include chamomile tea, bananas, and pineapple juice.

If home remedies don’t seem to address your severe symptoms, then you may want to consider over the counter medication. Antacids can be used to provide quick relief for many GERD symptoms, such as heartburn, throat irritation, coughing, and stomach upset. Some types of antacids, such as Alka-Seltzer, may contribute to bloating and belching.

If over the counter treatments also fail, then you may need to see your doctor about obtaining a prescription. The type of prescription that your doctor recommends can vary. A prescription strength antacid may do the trick or you may opt for a PPI (proton pump inhibitor) or H2 blocker. PPIs work by changing the chemistry of the acid-producing enzyme, making it unable to produce stomach acid. H2 blockers work by preventing the enzyme’s histamine receptors in from receiving the message to produce more acid.

Long-Term Heartburn Prevention

Heartburn can sometimes be prevented by learning what “triggers” your heartburn. It may be something simple like overeating, or eating too close to bed time, or it may be certain types of foods. Once you have identified your heartburn triggers you can avoid them to reduce GERD flare-ups.

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Symptoms of GERD

GERD is more commonly known as acid reflux.  GERD is a very serious form of GER.  Normally, in order to be diagnosed with GERD, you must suffer from the acid reflux more than a couple of times per week and it doesn’t matter how young or how old you are – you can be a sufferer.  Acid reflux first occurs because the stomach acid isn’t kept in the muscle below the esophagus.  This muscle is known as the LES, or lower esophageal sphincter, and sometimes doesn’t close properly or opens up spontaneously allowing the stomach acid to enter into the esophagus resulting in acid reflux.

Heartburn

Heartburn by Cishore

One of the most common symptoms related to GERD is definitely heartburn.  It is the most experienced symptom by those that suffer from GERD.  Heartburn is normally felt right in the middle of the chest and it is a strong, painful burning sensation.  More often than that, heartburn is worse and much stronger after eating.  Heartburn can also be made worse when one is bending over or even lying down.  Normally if heartburn strengthens after lying down or bending over, standing up will provide relief to some extent.  In addition, heartburn commonly occurs at nighttime after heading to bed.

Sour Taste/Material from Regurgitation

Apart from the burning sensation that you feel in your chest known as heartburn, there are a number of other symptoms that you will feel when suffering from GERD.  For one, you’ll likely have a sour taste in your mouth, which is made worse when you burp.  In addition to just the “taste,” you may also experience material in your mouth that you have burped up or regurgitated.  It sounds disgusting and trust me, it is!  Many compare it to the taste you have in your mouth when you need to or have just vomited.

Sore Throat, Swallowing Difficulty and Pain

You are also likely to experience a sore throat, cough as well as hoarseness in your voice.  All three of these are more likely to appear in the morning, but they don’t have to.  The reason for the morning appearance is from irritation caused overnight from the acid sitting in the throat.  Having difficulty swallowing or even experiencing pain while swallowing is very common when suffering from GERD.  Those individuals that suffer from GERD and asthma may also experience a great deal of wheezing or a very dry cough.  Dry chronic coughs occur in non-smokers 41% of the time

What Can Cause GERD?

There are a number of factors that lead up to the cause of GERD.  It doesn’t just include the types of foods you eat, but that is included.  Foods such as chocolate, citrus fruits, spicy foods, fried and fatty foods, caffeine as well as tomato based sauces and foods can all create worsened symptoms of GERD.  A few other factors that often contribute to GERD include smoking, pregnancy as well as obesity.  If you have been diagnosed to have a hiatal hernia, this could be the cause of your GERD as it normally appears in the upper part of the stomach, near the LES, causing the acid to rise up into the esophagus.

What Can You Do?

Many people wonder what they can do to either help relieve their symptoms or prevent the symptoms from happening.  And, there are in fact a few things that you can do.  Let’s take a look at a few things that you can do to help prevent the development of GERD or to relieve the symptoms that you are facing from GERD.

It definitely boils down to changes in your current lifestyle.  For example, if you are a current smoker, the best thing for you to do is stop and stop right now!  Other changes may include the following:

  • You will also want to avoid those foods and drinks that worsen the GERD symptoms such as the ones listed above.
  • If you are overweight then it might be a wise choice to try to lose a little weight since obesity is a cause of GERD.
  • Try consuming several meals a day – small meals that come less frequently than the standard 3-meal per day routine.
  • Try to wear looser fitting clothes rather than clothes that fit snug around the stomach and abdomen.
  • Eat early enough so that you aren’t lying down until two to three hours after you have consumed your last meal to help avoid nocturnal acid reflux.
  • Try to put blocks under the head of your bed to raise your bed so that the head of it is up a few inches higher than normal.  Extra pillows won’t help in this sense so you actually need to raise the head of your bed.
  • Speak to your doctor about treatments such as proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)

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What is GERD?

August 21, 2010

GERD stands for Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease, more commonly referred to and known as acid reflux.  Gastro simply means stomach while esophageal means esophagus, which is the tube that runs from your mouth down to the stomach.  It’s the tube that carries your food and drink into the stomach from mouth consumption.  Reflux simply means [...]

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