Asthma and Acid Reflux Disease

Asthma and acid reflux have more in common than many people may know. In fact, many residents in Atlanta and surrounding areas who experience adult onset asthma have found that the real culprit for their problem is heartburn and acid reflux.
Asthma is caused by inflammation that develops in the airway, a tube called the trachea that is located just next to the esophagus. In a similar fashion to how acid reflux damages the esophagus, causing the chronic inflammation and irritation that lead to heartburn, inflammation in the trachea makes it incredibly difficult for the person to breathe and will generally lead to a number of secondary symptoms.
Several symptoms of asthma are also associated with acid reflux disease, including:

• Dry cough
• Wheezing
• Chest tightness

But unlike acid reflux, asthma doesn’t have one identifiable cause. Asthma is prompted by a world of allergens that enter the trachea and irritate the tissue. Once these irritants enter the trachea they can cause pain for hours and even days as the tissue becomes inflamed and the airways are blocked, making even basic tasks incredibly difficult.
Common irritants that cause asthmatic episodes include:

• Pet hair and animal dander
• Stress
• Dust
• Pollen
• Intense weather conditions
• Smoke
• Exercise
• Mold

Acid Reflux Treatment for Asthma

For those who have struggled with asthma all their life and are experiencing true asthmatic episodes, acid reflux treatment will not likely help resolve the breathing difficulties. However, adults who have developed asthma later in life may be shocked to learn the impact acid reflux surgery can have on their symptoms.
Many people experiencing wheezing, coughing and difficulty breathing with acid reflux disease, and unfortunately the problem has commonly gone misdiagnosed as the emergence of asthma. As one may expect, when this happens the tried and true asthma treatments are not generally successful at addressing the problem.
While some adults may develop asthma later in life, it is wise for you to have the causes of your new asthmatic symptoms investigated endoscopically to determine if there is damage to the trachea from allergens, or if acid reflux may have entered the airways to cause the problems.