Reflux can be a debilitating condition causing uncomfortable symptoms such as heartburn and chest pain reducing your overall quality of life. While there is an extensive list of possible treatments for reflux when you google ‘how to get rid of reflux’, not all of them will be backed by evidence-based research.
And with that, here are some trusted treatments for reflux:
New therapies
IQoro – this is a device designed to strengthen the muscles in your food pipe that are used for swallowing. This helps to improve the ability for your food pipe to clear any acid that comes up.
Meditcations
Antacids – things like Gaviscon and Rennies can help with immediate symptom relief brought on by acid reflux, but they won’t be able to heal an already damaged oesophagus.
H2 Blockers – are an option for longer-term symptom relief as they work to stop your stomach from being able to produce acid, leading to less acid production, and therefore less chance for acid to reflux into your oesophagus. Examples include cimetidine and famotidine.
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) – just like H2 blockers, PPIs help reduce acid reflux by stopping cells in your stomach from being able to produce acid. Again, resulting in less acid available to move up into the oesophagus and cause the negative symptoms of reflux. Examples of PPIs include omeprazole, lansoprazole and esomeprazole.
Surgical options:
Fundoplication – this surgery involves part of the stomach being wrapped around the bottom of the oesophagus. This can help prevent reflux if diagnostic tests, such as an oesophageal manometry or endoscopy, have shown the ring of muscle at the top of your stomach is loose.
There are different types of fundoplication that can be performed. The most common is a Nissen fundoplication and involves a complete wrap around the bottom of the oesophagus. Other fundoplication whereby the stomach is only partially wrapped around the bottom of the oesophagus include the Toupet fundoplication and Dor fundoplication – the difference being the orientation in which the wrap is done.
LINX – just like fundoplication, the aim of this surgery is to tighten the junction between the oesophagus and stomach. Here, a small ring of magnetic beads, known as the LINX device, is placed around the bottom of the oesophagus essentially acting as a ring of muscle, reducing the size of the gap allowing acid to move up and into the oesophagus
Other procedures:
Transoral Incisionless Fundoplication (TIF) – this option is slightly different from traditional surgical options in the sense that the procedure is performed inside the oesophagus through an endoscope rather than by going in to do the surgery from the outside of the body. As with fundoplication, here the top of the stomach is wrapped around the bottom of the oesophagus and then stapled. This again works to create a stronger barrier between the stomach and oesophagus in order to stop stomach contents from coming out of the stomach and into the oesophagus.
As with any treatment plan, the treatment pathway you follow will depend on the individual. A series of diagnostic tests would need to be carried out in order to decide which treatment plan would provide the most benefit and avoid the most side effects. For example, long-term use of medications may not be ideal if the patient is fit enough to undergo surgery. Equally, you would not want to perform surgery that tightens the muscle at the top of the stomach if the patient has weak oesophageal muscles as this could lead to the prevention of any food entering the stomach and causing vomiting and swallowing difficulties instead.
References
IQoro | Improve your quality of life | 2024
Scienfic Articles on IQoro | Research and databases
Esophageal dysphagia and reflux symptoms before and after oral IQoro(R) training – PubMed
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) – Diagnosis and treatment – Mayo Clinic
H2 Blockers: Uses and Side-Effects
Proton Pump Inhibitors: Uses and Side-Effects
Laparoscopic fundoplication for gastroesophageal reflux disease – PMC
LINX system treatment for chronic reflux – Overview | Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust