"Is acid reflux dangerous?"

Too many people take the approach that "Oh, it's just heartburn. I'll just take some antacid and live with it."

That way of thinking may be OK in very mild cases but extremely risky for others. There are some signs of possible serious problems you should be aware of.

To begin pay attention to is the extent of pain and discomfort. While it's not always true, more dangerous cases of reflux are often associated with more severe symptoms.

The next thing to consider is the frequency of symptoms. If a person only has pain every several months, that's less likely to be associated with serious disease than when symptoms are more frequent.

Remember that the symptoms of acid reflux are caused by acid backing up into the esophagus. The esophagus is injured by this acid. That injury can cause to quite significant problems.

I don't want to go into gory detail here but I suggest you find out more about the various complications of acid reflux at: Complications of Acid Reflux.

Another serious sign that indicates medical evaluation is needed is if they have a respiratory symptom associated with their GERD. These respiratory symptoms might include asthma, wheezing, coughing or recurrent colds and bronchitis.

The respiratory symptoms happen because it's possible for the stomach acid to back up all the way to the upper esophagus where it can irritate the back of the throat and even go down the trachea. I think you'd agree that having acid splash into your windpipe isn't a good thing.

As with any health issue it's always a good idea to educate yourself as much as possible.

A good site that I found for information on acid reflux is Treat Acid Reflux Now

You may particularly be interested in their page Is GERD Dangerous?

The main thing is not to assume that acid reflux is always minor problems that you can ignore. As always if you have any doubt it's better to be safe than sorry and make an appointment with your doctor rather than ignoring symptoms.

Tags: gerd, health issue, way of thinking, is GERD dangerous, acid reflux