Reflux Induced Asthma
- Thursday, July 23, 2009, 10:54
- Asthma
- 1,617 views
Relationship between asthma and reflux
Paul:
Is there a cause-and-effect relationship between asthma and reflux?
Dr. Shapiro:
Reflux, or gastroesophageal reflux, means acid coming up from the stomach, and in some people it causes constriction in the bronchial tubes. For some people that is a very important component of asthma, and for many people it’s not. So it’s an individual issue. But it’s something to be considered if someone isn’t getting better on standard treatment. It may not be asthma alone, it may be asthma with reflux.
Andrew:
So they could probably be on a gastrointestinal medication, as well?
Dr. Shapiro:
Exactly, yes.
Andrew:
I see. Paul, is that the specific situation that you face?
Paul:
Yes, and if I may, I’d like to elaborate a little bit. I’m in my late 30s now and I was diagnosed with allergies when I was a teenager, and then asthma crept into my life. It was something that was kept in control with Proventil, and then later Azmacort, and then more significant steroids. But in the last couple of years it’s been getting quite a bit worse. I went and saw another physician–he started inquiring about heartburn and next thing you know he prescribes Prilosec, which is reflux medicine. And bingo! I’m not off the inhalants, but yet my life has improved immensely. So the deeper question would be, what came first, the chicken or the egg? Is reflux just something that aggravates asthma that’s already in place, or is asthma a result of reflux, or can they both coexist and just aggravate each other?
Dr. Shapiro:
That’s a pretty deep question. I think that many people have the two conditions coincidentally, because they are both common conditions. So there’s an overlap of people who have both asthma and reflux and they don’t seem to affect each other. But then there’s a sub-group, and you’re in that sub-group, where there is a very important interaction. So you can’t generalize. But your doctor was very astute to think that there was more to it.
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I’m 17 years old and have been fighting asthma all my life. Two years ago i got put in the severe category and was told i have reflux. Theyve tried three different medicines and nothing is working. Could the inhalers be conteracting the the reflux medicine making my asthma worse?