Have you ever felt that unpleasant feeling of wanting to vomit after coughing several times? If you have, then my friend, you probably have an acid reflux problem. Acid reflux coughing, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD for short, can lead to serious health problems if left untreated, such as an inflamed esophagus, swallowing difficulties, asthma, dental problems, heartburns, and pneumonia. Sounds pretty bad, right?
There are several ways for us to spot GERD, with chronic cough being one possible symptom, so if you or anyone else that you know coughs a lot and sometimes may end with barfing, then you should get them to a hospital to be diagnosed with medical professionals if they have GERD or not.
How Does GERD and Chronic Coughing Link Up
Coughing is pretty normal, which I’m sure everyone has experienced at least once or twice in their lives. However, when you see someone coughing up a lot that resulted in them vomiting back their lunch, then chances are they have GERD. Most people who have chronic cough that leads to GERD are pretty high, hitting at about 25 percent out of every reported case. Here are several symptoms that could detect if GERD induces chronic coughing:
- Persistent coughing after eating a meal
- Coughing often at night
- Incessant coughing when laying down
- No smoking involved, yet keep coughing
- Have no history of asthma or postnasal drip yet keeps coughing
These symptoms could serve as potential lead to whether a person you know has GERD or not when they cough but getting an accurate diagnosis could be a hassle because coughing is such a common symptom that can be linked with almost every health condition in existence, e.g., asthma, postnasal drip, common cold, flu, viral laryngitis, you name it, coughing potentially is one of the symptoms.
How to Check for GERD
The best way to know for sure if you have GERD is by going to a gastroenterologist, which is a physician that specializes in dealing with your internal organs such as the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, colon, pancreas, and so on. The usual procedure is to ask you several questions pertaining to your lifestyle, eating habits, sleep cycle, etc., then run a few tests like the EGD or pH probe to evaluate your symptoms completely.
Once they get all the data they need, they can provide you with an accurate diagnosis and recommend the next steps toward recovery and prescribe you the medications you need to treat it, i.e., Nexium, Prevacid, and Prilosec.
The Bottom Line
If you feel like you have GERD because of your chronic coughing, you should seek counsel from a gastroenterologist to run a complete test and get the result to save you from other health complications. So, get your test result and the medication you need to recover from GERD today!
