A nagging cough rarely leads sufferers to think of acid reflux. This is attributable to the fact that there appears to be a lack of a relationship between the two. A cough is far more frequently a symptom of the common cold or long time smoking or a case of bronchitis or pneumonia. It’s rarely thought of as an acid reflux cough.

The truth, however, is that acid reflux is the third leading cause of a chronic cough, following on the heels of bronchial asthma and post-nasal drip (when the sinuses produce too much mucus).

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is the medical term for what we know as acid reflux. Acid, bile, and pepsin make up the content of the regurgitated liquid. These liquids are used in the process of digesting your food. Because they are acid based, they can severely irritate the esophagus lining.

The symptoms of acid reflux include nausea, belching, a sore throat, wheezing, difficulty swallowing, a pain in the chest that’s often mistaken as a heart attack, and in some cases chronic coughing. In fact, nearly three out of every four sufferers experience night time symptoms (such as coughing, snoring, and chest pain) that are not usually considered typical acid reflux symptoms. One of these is a nagging cough. When stomach acid rises to the vocal cords and is passed to the lower airway, a chronic cough can result.

Even in relatively small quantities, this can touch off an acid reflux cough. Because there’s so little stomach acid involved, often no other reflux symptoms are apparent, and the connection between the two goes unnoticed. In fact, they may not even have heartburn in the conventional sense, considering that there’s little or no damage to the lining of the esophagus when the acid level is so small.

Related posts:

  1. Asthma And Acid Reflux – Is There A Relationship?