Non-acid reflux can cause symptoms similar to acid reflux, including heartburn and coughing. Acid reflux medications may not work for non-acid reflux, and surgery or medication may be needed to treat it. Esophageal pH monitoring can determine the type of reflux a person has.
Many people are familiar with acid reflux and the discomfort it can create, but some patients also develop non-acid reflux. Essentially, a person with this condition has non-acidic substances backing up from the stomach into the esophagus. This can cause a variety of unpleasant symptoms, including indigestion, coughing, heartburn and even asthma. Unfortunately, a person with this problem may think they are dealing with acid reflux and use acid reflux medications to treat it. If the patient does indeed have non-acid reflux, however, typical acid reflux medications are unlikely to work.
Many of the symptoms of non-acid reflux are similar to those of acid reflux, including heartburn, indigestion, and nausea. In some people, this condition can even lead to the development of a chronic cough or asthma. A person who has this type of reflux may also become hoarse and feel the need to clear their throat frequently. Sometimes, it can also cause a small amount of the stomach contents to be regurgitated.
Some experts believe that acid reflux medications may be at the root of other reflux symptoms for some patients, although there may be other causes and contributing factors as well. Many patients take medicines to control the acid in the stomach and prevent it from being pushed from the stomach into the esophagus. Acid reflux medications often work well to neutralize the acid, but a patient can still develop symptoms. This may happen because the drug does the job of neutralizing stomach acids but can’t stop the stomach contents from being pushed up. As a result, the patient experiences reflux of the neutralized stomach contents.
Medical professionals can determine whether a person has acid or non-acid reflux using esophageal pH monitoring. A pH greater than four may indicate that the patient has non-acid reflux, although in some cases health care professionals consider a pH of seven and above to be an indication of this form. On the other hand, a pH below four would generally indicate that the gastric contents are acidic.
Because typical acid reflux treatments don’t usually work for those with the non-acid version, healthcare professionals must use different methods to treat this condition. Often, surgery is used to repair the valve responsible for keeping stomach contents out of the esophagus. In some cases, medications can also help make this valve work better.
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