Acidic saliva (GERD) - Gastroenterology

Qauestion:: Hello, please help me, I’m an emigrant and I can’t see a doctor here. I have excessive acidic saliva in my mouth for a few days now. It’s not heartburn. I have an unpleasant feeling in the abdominal area, my gallbladder was removed. Could you prescribe some type of medication, please.

Answer:

Greetings,

In the response provided to you by highly qualified doctors, you will be informed about the following:

What causes excessive acid;
What is GERD;
Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux;
Diagnosing Gastroesophageal Reflux;
Dietotherapy;
GERD treatment;
Medication recommendation.

Commonly, acidic reflux is caused by Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), which is a chronic disease of the digestive system and is characterized by stomach content (food, digestive juices) refluxing to the esophagus that causes excessive acid, irritated esophageal mucosa and unpleasant symptoms, particularly, heartburn, albeit it might not be advanced symptom at an early stage.

Other symptoms include:

Pain in the epigastrium;
Inflammation of the esophagus (esophagitis);
Unpleasant taste in the mouth;
Abdominal swelling (bloating);
Chest pain;
Nausea;
Vomiting;
Difficulty swallowing;
Odynophagia (painful swallowing);
Wheezing;
Weight loss.

Cardiac insufficiency and hiatal hernia might be related to GERD.
In this case, part of the stomach pushes up to the chest cavity through a defective opening (hiatus). Clinically it’s seldom symptomatic, albeit this condition can cause weakened lower esophageal sphincter, which subsequently can cause acidic stomach content to "push up" to the esophagus.

Diagnosing Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease

Following clinical-laboratory tests are ordered to diagnose gastroesophageal reflux disease:

Gastroscopy;
Biopsy (if necessary);
Stomach x-ray examination with contrast;
PH - monitoring
Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) IgG, IgM, IgA antibodies level blood test;
Chromatography.

Since gastroesophageal reflux is a manageable disease, of course, dietotherapy – healthy nutrition is necessary:

Frequent consumption of food in small portions;
Exclude spicy, sour and salty food from your nutrition;
Say no to alcohol, tobacco, coffee, and chocolate.
Antacids (medication that reduces stomach acidity).

Full recovery is possible after drugs for regulating esophageal and gastric motility is prescribed, surgical intervention is necessary in severe cases.

Medication treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease

Following is prescribed within conservative treatment:

Antacids;
Histamine H2 receptor blockers;
Proton pump inhibitors;
Prokinetic agents;
Helicobacter pylori eradication (if any);
Prostaglandin E 1 receptor agonists.

As for the Helicobacter pylori, its' eradication treatment aims to completely remove this bacteria, and to do that, combined treatment is applied using two, three, or four different groups of drugs. Mentioned drugs are antibiotics and can cause fungal infection if taken without a prescription, and course ordered individually by the respective specialist. Since you’re in emigration and probably aren’t able to receive medical care, as an exception we recommend following method of conservative treatment:

Omeprazole – Take in the morning and evening, 30 minutes before eating;
Maalox (Algeldrate; Magnesium Hydroxide.) or Phosphalugel (ALUMINIUM PHOSPHATE) 1 packet 3 times a day, 1 hour after eating.

Mentioned treatment should last two weeks. We hope it will be successful, albeit if not, you should definitely seek out the medical establishment to determine the exact cause of complaints and order respective treatment.