40 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • FEBRUARY 7, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
health
Stomach Acid Burns Woman’s Throat - How to Protect Yourself
Like many with the condition, Kathy
Bennett suff ered for over a decade with
a damaging, oft en-misdiagnosed disease
- silent refl ux.
Also called laryngopharyngeal refl ux
disease (LPR), silent refl ux is oft en confused
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with heartburn or gastroesophageal
refl ux disease (GERD), as well as the
common cold and allergies, because of
its puzzling symptoms. However, LPR
is more severe than simple heartburn
and can seriously damage the throat and
voice box.
“It started as a cough, like a feeling of a
lump in my throat, then I started to wake
up hoarse,” Bennett said. “When you’re
laying down, the acid can fl ow horizontally
into your throat. For years, I never slept
continuously through the night because
of the pain, and that aff ects your entire
life. You can’t do your job if you can’t
sleep.”
What makes LPR unique is that a weakened
sphincter in the upper esophagus
allows stomach acid to move past the
esophagus into the throat, voice box and
lungs. In Bennett’s case, her condition
was not eff ectively treated for 15 years,
which led to painful damage to her throat
tissue.
“Aft er a few years, it felt like a blowtorch
shooting up into my throat,” she
said. “You can’t drink anything to make
it go away. None of the heartburn medicines
or home remedies for acid refl ux
ever helped.”
Many people take heartburn medicines,
such as Prilosec (omeprazole) or Nexium
(esomeprazole), to manage acid refl ux
symptoms, but there is little evidence that
these medicines relieve LPR symptoms.
Unlike GERD patients, most people with
LPR have a healthy esophagus and may
not experience heartburn, according to
research published by the “International
Archives of Otorhinolaryngology.”
Studies also show that long-term use
of these medicines may increase risk of
stroke, bone fractures, heart attack and
kidney damage.
“Taking over-the-counter heartburn
medication for an extended period can
potentially do serious harm to your
body,” said Stacey L. Silvers, M.D., director
of Madison ENT and allergy care.
“Th e problem is most patients and doctors
are not familiar with LPR, yet it’s
extremely common. In my professional
experience, LPR aff ects approximately
half of patients and needs to be treated
before it becomes damaging.”
Symptoms of LPR include nighttime
regurgitation, throat irritation, constant
cough or throat clearing, hoarse voice,
diffi culty swallowing, postnasal drip and
sleep loss.
“Th ere is an option that’s clinically
proven to relieve symptoms that should
absolutely be considered in place of medications
or surgery for suspected LPR,”
Silvers said. “Th e Refl ux Band is the fi rst
FDA-cleared, over-the counter, wearable
device that applies slight pressure on the
upper esophagus to stop acid refl ux from
reaching the throat, voice box and lungs.
It’s not uncomfortable, and the device
has provided relief for hundreds of my
patients.”
Bennett eventually spoke with her doctor
about the over-the-counter device.
“Th e Refl ux Band has become so
important to me, and I won’t even travel
without it,” she said. “I’m not afraid to
go to sleep at night anymore. I know I’m
safe now.”
For more information, visit refl uxband.
com/learn.
Courtesy Family Features
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