Language: English
World Psoriasis Day
More News
Health News 
- GERD treatment helps asthmatic children, study suggests
Published Monday 17 November 2008 - Chronic croup could be linked to GERD, study suggests
Published Wednesday 24 September 2008 - Researchers to trial new GERD treatment
Published Wednesday 09 July 2008 - GERD patients self-manage breakthrough symptoms
Published Monday 19 May 2008
Your Vote
Find Out More About
This service contains links to third party websites. EPG Patient Direct is not in a position to verify this information and cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the content contained.
Diagnosis
Your doctor can normally diagnose GERD from the symptoms alone. The most common symptoms of GERD are heartburn and regurgitation. Most people experience these symptoms occasionally, but some suffer from them more often. If they occur regularly on two or more days per week, or are troublesome enough to affect your daily life, you can be diagnosed as having GERD. However, in a few cases, your doctor may arrange for further investigations to confirm a suspected diagnosis of GERD.
Endoscopy
During endoscopy, a narrow, flexible tube with a light and camera at the end (fibre optic), is placed into the mouth and throat and then into the esophagus. This allows the doctor to see if there is any reddening (indicating inflammation) or ulceration on the esophageal wall. It is also possible to take a small sample (biopsy) of the esophageal wall to check for any abnormalities. The procedure may be uncomfortable but is not generally painful. You should not need to stay in hospital overnight, but you may need someone else to drive you home.
Click here to download: A guide to upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
24-hour pH testing
The amount of acid in the esophagus can be measured by passing a special tube, through the mouth, into the esophagus. The special tip of the tube can measure the acidity or pH over 24 hours
