WHAT IS ESOPHAGUS REFLUX?
Esophagus Reflux is when your esophagus (the tube that goes from your throat to your stomach) becomes inflamed or irritated because the acid your stomach is backed up. Your stomach produces an acid to help digest your food. Your stomach resists corrosion by the inner lining of your stomach and it produces mucus to protect itself. Your esophagus does not have anything it to protect itself against this acid. At the bottom of your esophagus, there is a circular band of muscle that contracts to keep certain things out. This muscle, called the sphincter, will relax when you swallow to allow food to pass but then tightens up so nothing will go back up. During this process, there could be a build of acid and when the sphincter relaxes, or becomes too weak, the acid will go up the esophagus and damage its lining, causing Esophagus Reflux. It is also common to have hiatal hernia with Esophagus Reflux. Hiatal hernia is when your stomach pushes up past your diaphragm (a thin flat muscle that sepa
