Reflux and oesophagitis: a short guide
Short patient information to print or keep.
What do the words mean?
Reflux is stomach contents coming back up into your food pipe. It can cause heartburn or an acid taste. Oesophagitis is inflammation of the food pipe lining. Reflux symptoms are common, and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease affects about 10–20% of people in Western countries. Reflux is a common cause of oesophagitis, but other causes are possible. Los Angeles grades A to D describe surface damage seen at gastroscopy. They are not cancer stages.
Treatment
Most people improve with the appropriate dose and timing of acid-reducing medicines such as PPIs, which can relieve symptoms and heal reflux oesophagitis. I tailor the medicine plan to your diagnosis and response. Severe oesophagitis may need ongoing treatment and another gastroscopy after healing. A small number of people may need surgery when symptoms or complications persist despite appropriate treatment, or when an anatomical problem is contributing. Smaller meals, avoiding lying down soon after eating and raising the head of the bed may help. Reduce foods that repeatedly trigger your symptoms rather than following a strict blanket diet.
Your next step
A normal gastroscopy does not rule out reflux. If symptoms persist, further assessment may be useful. Barrett’s oesophagus is a reflux-associated lining change found in some people, confirmed through tissue examination, and most people with it do not develop cancer. Your recommended follow-up will be documented in your endoscopy report and/or histology report once any tissue results are available.
When to get help
Arrange review for new swallowing difficulty, unexplained weight loss or persistent vomiting. Seek urgent help for food stuck with inability to swallow saliva, vomiting blood or black stools. Call 111 for new severe chest pain, especially with breathlessness, sweating or faintness. Do not assume chest pain is reflux.
Symptoms to have checked
Contact me or your GP for new difficulty or pain with swallowing, unexplained weight loss, repeated vomiting or symptoms that persist despite treatment.
Seek urgent assessment if food is stuck and you cannot swallow saliva, you vomit blood, have black tarry stools or develop severe chest or upper abdominal pain. New chest pain should not be assumed to be reflux.
Call 111 for new severe chest pain, especially with breathlessness, sweating or faintness, or if you collapse or are too unwell to travel safely.
General information. Follow your own care instructions.