GERD – Conclusion

Transcript

So in conclusion, gastroesophageal disease is a relatively common disorder. It’s characterized by heartburn, which is oftentimes triggered by consuming certain substances, fatty foods, alcoholic beverages, peppermints, chocolate, can be triggered if you bend over to tie your shoes or pick up an object. And for the most part, everyone experiences some degree of acid reflux throughout the day and it doesn’t necessarily represent a problem. When gastroesophageal reflux is referred to as a disease. It’s because it begins to alter your daily routine. It makes you feel uncomfortable and you experience symptoms of heartburn multiple times a week and you find that you feel better when you’re taking antacid medications and avoiding some substances that trigger it. If you notice that you have these symptoms and you don’t have any red flag symptoms such as fever, severe pain, weight loss of greater than 10% of your normal body weight, if this has been going on for two weeks or greater, you should definitely bring it to the attention of your physician if not sooner. They are very simple treatments that we’ve talked about, the medications we’ve talked about when certain procedures such as endoscopy to check whether you have injury to your esophagus and/or stomach. We talked about the role of medications and the role of surgery is only in severe cases for the most part. And the bottom line is if you take your medications, avoid gaining excess weight, pay attention to your diet, you should do quite well. This is Eugene Trowers from the University of Arizona and Gi Department. Thank you so much. Have a great day.