Acid Reflux Cough
Acid Reflux Cough is a symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). There are instances when there is a small amount of stomach fluid that regurgitates into the esophagus that is insufficient to cause a burning sensation but enough to cause a cough. In other instances, the fluid is usually bile that does not burn but stimulates coughing. There are times when too much stomach fluid refluxes that it spills over into the lungs. This causes continuous cough that can potentially lead to pneumonia or bronchitis. If you are taking heartburn medications, they may be causing your persistent cough.
Acid reflux cough is one of the most common causes of chronic cough but it may be hard to diagnose. Most people do not link coughing with GERD, especially if they do not experience heartburn. To determine whether a persistent cough is due to acid reflux or another condition, you can have a simple breathing test. Taking cough suppressants are ineffective because they are for coughs caused by colds. The medicines you use to treat your acid reflux disease, like nitrates, antacids, beta-blockers or proton pump inhibitors are also helpful to treat acid reflux cough. However, overuse of antacids may worsen your cough. Occasional use of antacids helps neutralize excess stomach acid, but overuse may cause the stomach to produce greater amounts of fluid, which then regurgitates into the esophagus.
Acid reflux cough is also a sign that the highly corrosive acid in your stomach has caused severe damage to your lungs. When the acid rises into the esophagus and pharynx, it damages the throat muscles. Since the pharynx is already incapable of closing and operating properly, it sometimes allows acid to spill into the lungs. This is usually accompanied by pain and the feeling of a solid lump in the throat.
There are two effective herbs that can be used to treat acid reflux cough. Garlic is an ancient cure for everything from digestive problems to flu. It has healing enzymes that can be used to treat acid reflux and the cough that goes with it. Making a garlic cough syrup will be the best solution. Mixing a few garlic cloves with honey and letting it sit for about two weeks can be very effective. A tablespoon of the concoction can relieve your cough even when the condition is at its worst.
Another magical herb that has been used as nature’s cure-alls for centuries is ginger. Ginger improves the efficiency of the gastrointestinal tract and eases the burning sensation and acid reflux cough. Chewing on a few slices of ginger will be helpful as the enzymes will travel down the throat and relieve the inflammation.
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