Various ENT diseases accompanied by frequent sore throat, cough and excessive mucus production can be signs of reflux of stomach contents into the pharynx. Svetlana Marnova, an otolaryngologist at the DocMed Clinic, told socialbites.ca.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic disease of the gastrointestinal tract in which stomach contents are regularly thrown into the esophagus due to disruption of the upper esophageal sphincter. This condition may be accompanied by heartburn, belching, nausea and chest pain. However, if the upper esophageal sphincter malfunctions, stomach contents may be expelled further up the pharynx. In this case, extraesophageal symptoms that can be confused with ENT diseases may develop.
“Only 40% of GERD patients suffer from heartburn, meaning that most of the time the patient himself does not even suspect that he has a stomach problem. Usually, with reflux disease, people complain of constant sore throat, long-term persistent cough, the feeling of some mucus in the nasopharynx, some kind of foreign body, voice change, as well as swallowing disorders, or even attacks. choking and, less commonly, problems breathing through the nose. In many cases, such patients can be prescribed anti-reflux medications by the otolaryngologist himself, for example, if a person is unable to see a gastroenterologist,” Marnova explained.
An otolaryngologist can detect stomach problems by examining the larynx and the entrance to the esophagus. Reflux of stomach contents into the pharynx is indicated by redness, swelling and special formations on the mucous membrane – granulomas. They can be malignant, so large formations require medical supervision and sometimes biopsy.
There is also a scale (laryngopharyngeal reflux index) on which you can suspect reflux disease. It consists of nine questions that the patient answers by giving a score from 0 to 5 for each; where 0 means that nothing bothers you, and 5 means that it can be a harbinger of various ENT diseases accompanied by frequent sore throat, cough and excessive mucus formation. reflux of stomach contents into the throat. Svetlana Marnova, an otolaryngologist at the DocMed Clinic, told socialbites.ca.
“There was a patient in my office who had a sore throat for a month, at one point. He went to different doctors, gargled and used some sprays. During laryngeal endoscopy, a small granuloma was discovered causing pain. Its appearance has been associated with reflux disease. “After a few months of diet and medication, both his pain and the granuloma disappeared,” the doctor said.
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