Do I Have Asthma and Reflux?

If you have asthma, you may be more likely to have acid reflux as well. You may have both asthma and reflux if you answer yes to any of the following questions:

• Do you have symptoms of regurgitation? Many patients will describe the sensation of acid and food backing up into the esophagus as a "wet burp."


• Do you have frequent heartburn or pyrosis? This is the painful burning in your stomach and mid-chest caused by acid from your stomach going up into and irritating your esophagus.


• Do you experience a sour or bitter taste in your mouth? Depending on the severity, the reflux may cause a sour or bitter taste, or you may get a sudden sensation of a salty fluid in your mouth called water brash. Water brash results from the stomach acid stimulating the salivary glands to produce saliva.


• Have you experienced coughing, wheezing, or shortness of breath at night in the past month? Unexplained nighttime asthma symptoms may indicate that you have reflux as well.

If your asthma is poorly controlled and you are experiencing any of the following symptoms of both reflux and asthma, you may want to consider talking with your doctor:

• Wheezing
• Chest tightness
• Shortness of breath
• Chronic cough
• Feeling as though food is getting stuck in your throat
• Hoarseness or voice changes
• Sore throat

Your doctor may also suspect reflux and asthma are occurring together if:

• Your asthma symptoms continue to occur despite taking your asthma medication appropriately, or you have had a poor response to your treatments.


• You experience asthma symptoms after eating foods that make reflux worse, such as a high-fat meal, alcohol, chocolate, or caffeine.


• You are taking medications known to increase acid reflux, such as calcium channel blockers (e.g. nifedipine for hypertension), prescription pain medications (e.g. lortab), or osteoporosis treatments (e.g. Fosamax).


• Your asthma symptoms began as an adult.

_Sources:

_{National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Accessed: September 10, 2010. Expert Panel Report 3 (EPR3): Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma}