Could There Be a Link Between Acid Reflux and Asthma?

It is estimated that out of the individuals that have been diagnosed with having asthma 50-80% of them also have acid reflux. The interesting part is, not all of these sufferers even realize they also have acid reflux and asthma. In many cases where both conditions are present, the signs and symptoms of asthma are the only ones that are present and noticeable.

Although there are many different possible causes for the connections between acid reflux and asthma, there is one that seems to make the most sense to us. This doesn’t mean you should disregard any of the other possible causes.

The one that we have the best understanding of is one that links acid reflux to asthma is the association of the acid reflux causing the secondary condition of asthma.

Apparently, when a person has acid reflux in many cases the condition of the acid reflux sometimes leads to the aspiration in the lungs. Also, acid reflux can be among the causes for the tightening feeling felt by those that suffer from asthma.

In addition, there are some asthma symptoms that often make medical care professional begin to look into the possibility of their patient also having acid reflux.

In some situations when an asthma sufferer complains to their medical care provider about excessive coughing during the night, increase in asthma symptoms after eating a large meal, after drinking alcoholic beverages or when the person is lying down can all be indicators of the asthma being induced by the symptoms of acid reflux.

Other indicators that the symptoms can be a combination of acid reflux and asthma are, the person was not diagnosed until adulthood with having asthma, there is little control over the asthma even with prescription medications.

The tightening in the chest area is often overlooked as a symptom of acid reflux. However, all too often the atypical symptoms are camouflaged and lead the patients and even the medical care providers to a different condition.

There is indeed a link between acid reflux and asthma. However it is still being looked into further. Obviously, more testing and treatment needs to be done to see just how common acid reflux and asthma is in one person. This could take a few more years, but at least we a re now headed down the right road and can successfully treat the conditions the proper way.