A number of treatment strategies exist for this condition:
Measures such as eating earlier before retiring, elevating the head of the bed and avoidance of rich or spicy food have all been suggested.
There effects on acid reflux are extremely modest. They may help in mild cases.
Patients who are obese do suffer with a higher incidence of acid reflux.
Losing weight in this instance may reduce the acid reflux
Medication is the mainstay of treatment for most patients.
Antacids - Liquid and tablet antacids temporarily mop up the acid in the stomach. They offer a rapid relief from the symptoms, although they do not last very long and need to be taken repeatedly.
H2 antagonists - This class of drugs includes Cimetidine and Ranitidine.
Their action is to block one of the pathways of acid production. They are less effective than PPIs but are cheaper.
PPIs - Proton Pump Inhibitor drugs are very powerful acid suppressors, blocking the final pathway for acid production.
They reduce the level of acid within the stomach to close to zero.
With no stach acid to pass into the oesophagus the symptoms should vanish.
Despite these measures the patient may still regurgitate as the fundamental problem of fluid passing into the oesophagus remains.