Reflux disease symptoms can range from very mild and occasional to severe and continual. Whenever you experience symptoms on the high-end spectrum, it’s a signal that you should seek medical help to control the disease.
The first sign that you have GERD is that you experience heartburn more than just once in awhile. This is a burning sensation right in your chest – but it might seem to crawl up into your throat or neck area.
Another symptom you may suffer is having difficulty swallowing. It might be painful, or it might just feel like there’s an obstacle in your throat preventing a smooth swallow from occurring.
As the reflux worsens, you might go from mild discomfort to true and severe pain in the throat. A simple throat lozenge won’t sooth this sore throat, though. The only remedy will be to eliminate the thing causing it – GERD.
One common symptom that happens when you’re suffering from reflux disease is the feeling of food coming back up from your stomach. It’s called regurgitation, and the food you’ve eaten, along with stomach acid and occasionally bile, will rise back up through the esophagus and into your mouth, causing a sour taste.
Some people who have been diagnosed with reflux disease report that they experience heavy saliva whenever they eat – and afterwards. This could be your body’s natural response to try to sooth the pending pain and discomfort.
A rare symptom that sometimes happens is that the person will feel nauseous when the reflux disease acts up. This will fade away and reoccur over time, and some people may not realize it’s a symptom of GERD at all.
Because of the irritation in your throat and pain in your chest, you might notice a nagging cough that’s very dry taking root over time. Cough drops probably won’t be able to rid you of this persistent hacking until the reflux disease is addressed.
If your voice changes and you experience hoarseness of your voice, then it could be caused by your reflux disease. This is primarily caused by the irritation and symptoms with coughing and dryness. You’ll notice that your voice sounds and feels smooth – except after you eat.
One surprising symptom of chronic reflux disease is asthma. Not everyone who has GERD experiences this, but some do – and researchers believe that the irritation of the esophagus and presence of stomach acid causes a restriction of your airways.
