There will be times when stomach acid flows back into everyone's esophagus and this process creates heartburn. However, if you experience heartburn more than twice a week, you may have a condition commonly known as acid reflux disease. Chronic heartburn is a symptom of acid reflux disease. At the present time, no one has produced any concrete evidence as to why acid reflux occurs. Apparently, how acid reflux originates, has to do with the muscle between the stomach and the esophagus. The muscle acts like a valve, and when the muscle does not close properly, stomach contents can flow back into the esophagus. As stated earlier, heartburn is the most common symptom of acid reflux disease, but there are others. Acid regurgitation, chronic throat clearing, persistent cough, sore throat and hoarseness.

When acid reflux occurs at night, it apparently brings with it, its own set of night time symptoms. Such as, snoring, loss of sleep, breathlessness, nighttime cough, restlessness and fatigue. For many people, the acid reflux symptoms that occur at night are more severe than the daytime symptoms.

So, what starts the heartburn that triggers the acid reflux? For the majority of people, the answer to this is simple, food! Most people start to feel the onset of heartburn after they've eaten. Some foods may bring about heartburn more than others, these include spicy foods, chocolate, fried foods and citrus fruits.

Stomach acid should be confined to the stomach. When the acid leaves the stomach and goes into other areas of the body, major problems can and will occur. One of these problems is erosive esophagitis. When stomach acid continues to reflux back into the esophagus, the tissue that lines the esophagus wall may eventually develop bleeding, erosion and inflammation. If left untreated, erosive esophagitis can lead to difficulty when swallowing, ulcers in the esophagus or scarring of the esophagus.

You have acid reflux disease, but you don't want it. How do you relieve the pain, or maybe stop it from recurring. One way, though it may not be so simple, is to create a lifestyle change. Eat smaller, more frequent meals. Large meals expand your stomach and increase pressure against the esophageal sphincter. Cut back on those foods and drinks that are acid stimulating. Don't eat and then lie down, at least for a couple of hours. Gravity helps keep the stomach juices from backing up into the esophagus. Maintain a reasonable weight. Being overweight increases abdominal pressure, which can cause stomach contents to be pushed into the esophagus. Don't smoke. Smoking stimulates the production of stomach acid. Don't drink alcohol. Don't wear clothes or belts that are too tight around the waist. Clothing that's too tight will squeeze the stomach, forcing food up against the esophageal sphincter, and cause food to reflux into the esophagus.

I'm sure for most people, these lifestyle changes may be harder then the acid reflux itself. This is why most people will chose the easiest cure, which is, go to their doctor, who will direct them to their nearest drug store.

Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Acid Reflux