Acid reflux disease, commonly referred to as GERD Gastroesophageal reflux disease, is a condition where by the liquid content in the stomach backs up into the esophagus. This liquid can inflame the lining of your esophagus. Though visible signs of irritation occur in a minority of patients. The regurgitated liquid usually contains acid and pepsin which are produced by the stomach. Pepsin is an enzyme that begins the digestion of proteins in your stomach. The refluxed liquid may also contain bile that has backed-up into the stomach from your duodenum. Acid reflux disease involves more than 20% of Americans. Some 80% of the 60 million U.S. citizens who have been diagnosed with acid reflux disease describe being worse at night, and three out of four say they routinely wake up from sleep because of it.
This relationship between sleep apnea and acid reflux makes perfect sense because when you’re awake, gravity helps keep acids required to digest food down where they belong, in the stomach. But when you’re lying down, these acids can wash back into your esophagus, irritating the lining and significantly increasing the risk of esophageal cancer.
A few researchers think that sleep apnea results in airway pressure changes that can cause acid reflux to occur, still other researchers think that the reflux of acids may be a result of spasms of your vocal cords that can then lead to sleep apnea.
What Causes Sleep Apnea?
Sleep apnea is a common disorder in which person has one or more pauses in breathing or shallow breaths while they sleep.
The Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can occur 5 to 30 times or more per hour. Usually, Typically, normal breathing then begins again, from time to time with a loud snort or choking noise.
Sleep apnea usually is a chronic that interrupts your sleep 3 or more nights a week.
This problem causes poor sleep quality that makes you tired during the day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of excessive daytime sleepiness.
What Is Obstructive Sleep Apnea?
When we’re awake, your throat muscles help keep one’s airway stiff and open so air can flow into your lungs easily. When you’re asleep, these muscles are more relaxed. Normally, your relaxed throat muscles won’t stop the airway from staying open to let air into the lungs.
Acid reflux is more often than not a frequent condition. When it begins, it is usually a life-long condition If there is injury to the lining of your esophagus then it is a chronic condition. There are a lot of different acid reflux treatments you can consider using. One of these is Pepcid .
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