Commonly called "heartburn, acid reflux disease is a condition in which the liquid contents of the stomach regurgitates (backup, or reflux) into the esophagus.

It's annoying and painful.

But you want to know the truth, the reflux of liquid contents from the stomach into the esophagus occurs in most normal individuals. However, when heartburn becomes acid reflux disease or gastro esophageal reflux disease, commonly known as GERD, is s real problem. This is because with GERD, the acid is stronger and stays in the esophagus, because they cause more trouble.

Very often, you experience this during the day when they are upright, sitting upright or standing. Your body handles this reflux by the fluid flowing down into your stomach. You swallow more during the day so the acid drainage back to where it belongs. His salivary glands produce saliva, which contains bicarbonate that acts to neutralize stomach acid has been lifted.

At night, however, you can have a major problem when acid reflux disease occurs that is because during sleep, gravity does not work as well lying down, your constant swallowing stops, and the production of saliva is reduced.

Certain conditions make a person more prone to acid reflux disease, the GERD. For example, during pregnancy, this can be a serious problem. High levels of pregnancy hormones probably cause reflux by lowering the pressure in that part of the body known as the lower esophageal sphincter. In addition, the growing baby exerts more pressure on the abdomen. Both effects of pregnancy tend to increase the risk of GERD.

If your acid reflux disease is a minor condition, then should experience only minor symptoms. These mainly include heartburn, regurgitation and nausea. However, if the condition is complicated, then beware of the following symptoms.

The liquid returns to damage the lining of the esophagus, the esophagus. The body tries to protect itself from acid reflux disease by 'inflaming' the esophagus. Trying to accelerate the healing process through the inflammation, the wall of the esophagus may form an ulcer. The ulcer is a break in the lining of the esophagus wall. So what happens is that there may be bleeding. If bleeding is severe, patients may need a blood transfusion or surgical treatment.

If heartburn is severe or acute, occurring frequently, you need to see a doctor.

What you can do yourself to help the condition? Try sleeping on a pillow at night that raises your chest up slightly so that gravity can bring the acid down more easily. Since this condition usually occurs with a full stomach, eat earlier and eat less to keep your stomach too full. Ease off on the chocolate, peppermint, alcohol and caffeinated beverages. Reduce fatty foods and, of course, reduce or stop smoking. Other foods can aggravate the condition. Avoid spicy or acid containing foods such as citrus juices, soft drinks and tomato juice.