Almost everyone has heartburn at least once in his or her life. The strange GERD symptoms are the ones that get to us. Heartburn is a normal rite of passage. East too much, drink too much, load up on spicy food and you've got it in spades. Thankfully, it's gone by the next day and you are ready for the next round. On the other hand, for a large chunk of the population, heartburn is a chronic problem invading their lifestyle every day and making them miserable because of the pain and discomfort. In chronic cases like this the medical term for this malady is gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. In a normal gastrointestinal tract, food is eaten, slides down the food tube (esophagus) and shows up before the muscle guarding the stomach. It is a sphincter muscle and it is supposed to open in only one direction - into the stomach, but for some people this guard is weak or relaxed and food particles dripping with gastric acid and powerful enzymes, reflux or back up into the food tube producing a 5-alarm food tube fire. The guard was asleep at his post. The barrier failed and acid reflux GERD wins again, sad to say. Common GERD Symptoms The more common shared GERD symptoms include but are not limited to: * Heartburn - food tube on fire * Chest pain * Problems swallowing * Chronic dry cough * Hoarseness in the throat * Feeling there is food still stuck in the throat * Bad breath Heartburn is one of the very uncomfortable GERD symptoms that one usually feels when suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease. If you have no idea what heartburn feels like, the name can give you an inkling of the feeling. It feels like there is a 5-alarm fire raging in the middle part of your chest and it can range from a weak discomfort to feeling like you're having a heart attack. Antacid The other GERD symptoms are normally linked to heartburn while a few like nausea and bad breath are not. In most cases, an antacid can allay the GERD symptoms that stem from heartburn. Take note that the antacid can alleviate the discomfort of the GERD symptoms but it can't actually figure out the full trouble or the cause of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Reasons For GERD Symptoms Most of the GERD symptoms are induced by the lower esophageal sphincter not doing it task of tightening itself after a meal. In a few cases, some foods can really keep the lower esophageal sphincter from doing so while in other times, it is our posture and the slant of the body that causes GERD and GERD symptoms. Listen. If you are obese, you probably have GERD. Some people with GERD try milk at bedtime. This just makes matters worse because it just increases the gastric acid production - Yikes! Quite frankly, if none of the over-the-counter medications work, it is time to consult a physician who can run some tests and ascertain what strange GERD symptoms vs Trenchant GERD Treatments or medications are required to lick your GERD. About the author: Walt Brown is a researcher/writer who has been involved with acid reflux and studied its effects for many years. Please visit for more details on how you can mitigate or avoid its painful symptoms. Many more articles on how to how to avoid and treat GERD can be found at his website. See All articles From Author Tags:

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Word Count Appx. : 563 | Article Views 260 Published 15-03-2008