Sparrowhawk
07-14-04, 12:03 PM
Alright, while my health as been great over the years, every once in awhile I run into health news stories that can help us lead a better life.
We all need to take care of ourselves, I feel fortunate to have lived this far, should have been killed many times in the rice paddie fields of southeast Asia, but I'm still here and feel I live on borrowed time and feel I owe it to those that paid a heavy price for my life to live life to its fullest.
“Everyday is Saturday,” so here’s a thread where we can share health news with one another, that we may enjoy life with others.
Semper Fi
Cook
Sparrowhawk
07-14-04, 12:04 PM
Heartburn, night and day
Nocturnal acid reflux is
potentially more damaging
By Linda Carroll
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While daytime heartburn can be an annoyance, acid reflux during the night may be more worrisome, experts say.
That’s because nighttime gastroesophageal reflux is more likely to cause serious damage to the esophagus than daytime reflux. Further, studies have shown that people who frequently experience episodes of acid reflux at night are more likely to report daytime sleepiness.
The impact of nighttime reflux may be most clear when it comes to cancer risk.
A study published in March 1999 in the New England Journal of Medicine showed that while frequent daytime heartburn could raise the risk of cancer by eight-fold, nighttime reflux raised the risk by eleven-fold.
Why is GERD more damaging at night?
“When you’re lying down you don’t have gravity to help with the clearance of the esophagus,” says Dr. David C. Metz, a professor of medicine in the division of gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia. “When you’re in an upright position, there’s just a brief period of exposure.”
Furthermore, Metz explains, when you’re awake, you’re more likely to swallow when you get the burning sensation as a result of reflux.
Time a Factor
In fact, a study published in December in Reviews in Gastroenterological Disorders showed that acid refluxed at night spends much more time in the esophagus than during the day. For that study, researchers continuously measured the amount of acid in patients’ throats over a 24-hour period.
During the day, acid levels typically rose for brief periods of 30 to 90 seconds after meals, according to the study’s lead author, William C. Orr, a clinical professor of medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and president and CEO of the Lynn Health Science Institute in Oklahoma City.
But at night, Orr found, the esophagus could be exposed to high levels of acid for long stretches of time.
“So, while you may only have one or two episodes during the night, the acid contact occurring in those events is continuous and can last up to 20 minutes,” Orr says. And this continuous exposure is what does the damage, he adds.
To explain, Orr uses a candle analogy. If you put your finger in a candle flame 15 separate times for one second each time, you won’t be hurt, he says.
“But if you held your finger in the candle flame for 15 seconds, you would burn your finger and it would hurt,” Orr says. “That’s why the acid contact at night is so much dangerous.”
Orr notes that even though nighttime reflux significantly raises the risk of esophageal cancer, the overall risk is still fairly low.
But, Orr says, that doesn’t mean people can just ignore their nighttime reflux. There are other unpleasant and serious complications that can arise from nocturnal acid reflux, he adds.
For example, Metz says, nighttime GER can lead to inflammation of the esophagus. And, it’s possible that refluxed acid can lead to a stricture – a narrowing of the esophagus. “This is a big deal, because you can’t swallow properly when you have strictures,” he adds.
Sleep Disruption
The fallout from nighttime GER isn’t limited to esophageal damage, experts say. A study published in July 2003 found that nighttime heartburn ruined sleep and led to problems during the day.
In that study, published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, researchers surveyed 1,000 adults who experienced heartburn at least once a week.
Among the people who experienced heartburn at night — 79 percent of the 1,000 —75 percent reported symptoms that affected their sleep, 63 percent said they thought heartburn negatively impacted their ability sleep well, and 40 percent said they believed that nighttime heartburn impaired their ability to function the following day.
Even if you aren’t aware of nighttime symptoms, you may still be suffering from nocturnal episodes of acid reflux, according to Metz. Some people don’t waken fully enough to remember that their sleep was disturbed, he explains.
The more severe the daytime heartburn, the more likely it is that a person will have a nighttime component, Metz says.
And, he adds, nighttime GERD can be more difficult to control than daytime reflux, even with newer medications.
“Some people need to take medication twice a day,” he says.
One other issue: Damage to the esophagus is often silent, Metz says. So, unless patients are examined with an endoscope, it won’t be clear that the esophagus is being eroded.
The pre-cancerous condition — Barrett’s esophagus — is relatively asymptomatic, Metz says.
thedrifter
07-14-04, 12:08 PM
It's too late for Roger, Cook........but for All who have been expossed to Agent Orange....Please get yourselves checked on a yearly bases......You all fought Your Hell Once.....don't need to do it again...........
Ellie
Was not in the Corps, but 4 years ago on Mother's Day while eating at a resturant(Chinese food), I thought I was having a heart attack.Saw a doctor, had x-rays---was diagnosed with GERD. Have changed my eating patterns. No food after 7 PM, I have a list of foods of what is safe to eat and a list of foods that will cause heartburn. Sleep on a very thick pillow for elevation--this helps. No longer eat Chinese food or anything spicy--these are killers. This is my 2 cents worth. Marines, eat healthy.