5 Signs of Acid Reflux can often be ignored as normal acidity, but frequent symptoms like heartburn, bloating, nausea, and dry cough may indicate a serious digestive issue.
We Indians love to eat, especially spicy, deep-fried, aka chatpata food.
These chatpata food items are great, but eating them four times a week and then thinking, “Oh, we just have a bit of acidity,” is our audacity.
Not every burning sensation or heavy feeling in the chest is just acidity, but it can be acid reflux.
Yes, you read it right. Most of our population is suffering from acid reflux and gaslighting themselves into thinking that just a packet of Eno or Limca can cure it.
Dr Anu, an Ayurvedic treatment specialist from Vedic Suttra, is here to tell you that if you are facing these signs, then buckle up, understand the symptoms of acid reflux, and cure it with Ayurveda before it’s too late.
What is acid reflux?
Have you ever experienced a strong burning sensation all of a sudden while you were just sitting and doing your work? If yes, then don’t worry, it was acid reflux, but if you have experienced this multiple times, then you have to worry, as it can be acid reflux.
See, we all have studied science in our school days and know how digestion works, so let’s recall it.
When we eat food, it goes down into the stomach through the food pie which is called esophagus right? At the bottom of our esophagus there is a small valve called the esophageal spinchter, which works as a door so that stomach acid doesn’t go up and stay where it should be.
A person who is suffering from acid reflux may have a weakened valve or door due to a poor diet or other reasons. So, the weak valve tends to relax at the wrong time, making the acid flow back into the esophagus.
Our esophagus which does not have a protective lining like the stomach, then has to face burns on its inner lining caused by the acid.
So, in short, acid reflux is when stomach acid comes back into the esophagus or near the throat because of a weak valve.
5 signs of acid reflux that your body is giving you
Heartburn (Burning sensation in the chest)
Heartburn has two effects on people.
Some people start panicking, thinking they might be having a heart attack or some sort of issue related to the heart. And some stay really calm, thinking oh its acidity, let’s drink some Limca.
Well, heartburn or the burning sensation in the chest is not directly related to the heart, but because the pain is felt near the chest area, it can make people think that way.
In reality, the burning sensation usually starts behind the breastbone and depending on the situation, it can go up to the throat too. This is a symptom that is easily recognisable.
It can happen after the intake of too much caffeine, carbonated drinks, spicy, fried, or heavy food, and worsen if you lie down after eating.
The acid from the stomach goes up, causing a sudden burning sensation, which can become more serious with time and can be a reason for a damaged esophagus.
Bloating and Nausea
Eating a small or normal amount of a meal and then feeling like you have eaten a 5-course meal? Well, this is one of the most common symptoms of acid reflux.
When you eat food or even drink one or two glasses of water, all of a sudden your stomach starts feeling heavy with a weird feeling of tightness, like someone has filled air in your stomach.
Having a bloated stomach can make a small task like breathing very difficult.
Many people feel to much pressure when they breathe with a bloated stomach. And obviously, if your stomach is bloated and the food is not digested, your body will feel like throwing up.
A strong feeling of nausea is also felt because the stomach acid starts building up and then goes in the wrong direction, causing irritation, uneasiness and discomfort. Now, bloating and nausea can happen for many reasons.
If you eat too much spicy, oily, or fried food, and in many cases, it often happens because of a lack of appetite, too.
This makes digestion difficult, which will lead to acid reflux and, in many cases, lack of appetite.
Feeling of Lump in Throat
Just imagine you have a small burn on your finger, and by accident it gets burned twice. What do you think will happen to your finger then? Well, a lump will form. The same goes for this symptom.
A person who is suffering from acid reflux will continuously experience acid coming up into the throat, and as we mentioned above, our esophagus and throat do not have a lining that can protect them from the acid.
As a result, the acid irritates the lining, causing inflammation, which makes people feel like they have developed some sort of lump.
Some people also get confused and think that something is stuck there when nothing is really stuck. They are clearly able to eat, drink, and swallow normally, but the inflammation makes them feel this way, which also makes them more stressed and anxious.
So now they feel uncomfortable, irritated, and stressed at the same time, which can make handling the situation a bit difficult.
Food Coming Up (Regurgitation)
The worst symptom that most people hate is regurgitation. A common symptom where food or liquid comes back.
When you finish your meal, you think maybe it’s just a burp, but no, it’s regurgitation. All of a sudden, your food or drink that you just had will come back in your mouth with pressure, but it will not be like vomiting, as it will be in a very tiny amount.
When you ignore the symptoms of acid reflux and continue your life with the same diet and habits, then continuous acid reflux makes your valve weak or relaxed, which can no longer hold the food and acid as strongly as it used to.
Regurgitation can happen if you lie down or even bend after finishing your meal.
Persistent Dry Cough
Persistent dry cough as a symptom of acid reflux? Yes, we get it, it is difficult to notice that the dry cough you are having is not because of a cold or some infection, but because of acid reflux.
If you have acid reflux, then one of the symptoms that you can face is dry coughing. This happens because the acid that travels back from your stomach to the throat causes irritation and inflammation in the lining of the airways.
Once you have a slightly burned throat, you start dry coughing. And this cough is not caused by any infection or cold, so there is no mucus.
This can worsen during sleep or when you lie down, as it gives a straight passage for acid to come back up.
However, this is not something that can easily be thought of as a symptom of acid reflux. People usually ignore it, thinking of it as just a seasonal cold or allergy.
But this small overlooked mistake can cause problems if not managed early.
