Guess what? This doesn’t only happen to babies. It can happen to kids, teens, and adults as well
You might have once held a baby who proceeded to spit up on your clothes. That happens when part of a baby’s feed comes up from his stomach and back out the way it came in (often a little more curdled, due to the presence of stomach acid and digestive enzymes). But guess what? This doesn’t only happen to babies. It can happen to kids, teens, and adults as well. The cause? Something called reflux: when food and acid from the stomach travel up through the esophagus (basically going against the traffic — they’re supposed to move down, not up).
If you experience reflux on a regular basis — at least twice a week or even as often as after every meal — you should see your doctor. You might be diagnosed with Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, otherwise known as GERD. This means your reflux is frequent and probably causes you significant discomfort. Sometimes, your pediatrician or regular GP will diagnose and treat your reflux. Other doctors prefer to refer patients with suspected GERD to a gastroenterologist, a specialist who treats patients with problems in the digestive system. The diagnosis might be made based on symptoms alone, while other times, diagnostic tests are used to see what is going on inside to decide how severe the reflux is and what the best treatment would be.
Most people occasionally experience reflux, especially after a heavy, greasy meal — think one Yom Tov meal after another! When you have reflux, you may experience several uncomfortable symptoms, primarily a pain in the chest known as heartburn and a burning sensation in your throat. The stomach acid causes this burning — did you know that the stomach has a special lining to protect it from this caustic stuff? Your esophagus doesn’t have the same lining, so stomach acid burns.
You might also experience some of these other signs and symptoms, which can all be caused by the presence of irritating acid reflux:
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