It surprises most people to find out that you can have an acid reflux sore throat. I’ve been looking into the association between acid reflux and sore throat. I found the connection very interesting.

As you might guess from the name, acid reflux refers to acid from the stomach backing up into the esophagus. The lining of the esophagus can’t tolerate this acid, so the acid causes injury when this happens.

Most commonly the injury is limited to the the very end of the esophagus just as it enters the stomach. In this location, it results in the typical burning symptoms we refer to as heartburn. The pain of heartburn is usually located in the upper stomach or lower chest.

There is really nothing to limit the injury to the last part of the esophagus. If the reflux is severe enough it can continue further up the esophagus and can even reach the back of the throat. It’s not too hard to imagine how acid in the back of the throat might cause some soreness.

Worse yet, if the acid gets to the back of the throat it can also drip into the windpipe leading to lung injury.

This situation is more likely to come up at night when a person is lying down. During the day when the person is a bright gravity tends to hold fluid in the stomach. That no longer happens at night.

What surprises many people is that they can have acid reflux sore throat without having other symptoms of acid reflux. Specifically, they may not have any chest or stomach discomfort whatsoever but still have irritation of the throat and/or larynx due to acid reflux.

Another thing to keep in mind is that acid from the stomach can actually cause dental problems because it weakens the teeth enamel.

If you have acid reflux and a sore throat that never seems to go away it may well be that the two are related. Treatment of the acid reflux is all the more important if it’s reached the stage of acid reflux sore throat.

Using a special acid reflux wedge pillow can help by getting gravity on your side, but often other treatments are necessary. Many people like totry natural treatments for heartburn, and actually many of these treatments works very well. However if symptoms persist particularly if there’s any question of respiratory problems you definitely should see your physician.