Grade A gastroesophageal reflux – How many levels?

Gastroesophageal reflux is a common disease that can occur in anyone. The disease is divided into many levels, of which grade A gastroesophageal reflux is the first stage of the disease. At this level, the damage is only mild. If treated early, it will help the patient prevent dangerous complications of the disease. Let’s learn with My Auris in detail about grade a gastroesophageal reflux through the following article. 

Gastroesophageal reflux grade a is a new stage, the esophageal mucosa shows signs of damage but the level of ulceration and inflammation is still mild. During endoscopy, the resulting image showed an ulcer in the esophageal mucosa less than 5mm long. 

At level a, the patient has the following symptoms:

• Burping, heartburn and heartburn: these conditions appear after eating a full meal or even on an empty stomach. If there is excess acid in the patient’s stomach, the gas that escapes will have a sour taste and be accompanied by a burning sensation. 
• Nausea and vomiting: nausea has a low frequency of occurrence, in the vomit there may be food or foods that cause nausea.
• Produce a lot of saliva: because saliva is alkaline so it can neutralize stomach acid, causing erosion of the mucosa. This is the body’s natural mechanism. 
• Burning epigastric stomach: ulceration causes the mucosa in the esophagus to be damaged, thereby causing dull, burning pain,…
• Difficulty swallowing, bitter mouth, stuffy throat, loss of appetite: under the impact of acid and gastric juice, the esophageal mucosa is scratched and eroded, forming ulcers. From there, it causes difficulty swallowing, bitter mouth, and loss of appetite. 
• Cough, sore throat: stomach fluid reflux, entering the respiratory tract will affect the throat leading to cough, sore throat, and hoarseness. 

When the above symptoms appear, patients should go for early examination at hospitals and medical facilities so that doctors can diagnose and have effective treatment methods. 

Is grade A gastroesophageal reflux dangerous?

As mentioned, level A is the initial stage of the disease, so mild ulcers will not be too worrying. If detected promptly, complete cure is possible. 

However, if the patient is subjective and not serious in the treatment process, it will progress quickly. When the disease becomes severe, the final stage will face many difficulties, easily leading to many dangerous complications. 

Esophageal ulcers 

When prolonged inflammation is not treated or intervened early, the initial superficial ulcers can progress to become deeper, wider ulcers on the esophageal wall. 

Along with that, reflux continues, causing gastric acid to continue to damage the esophageal mucosa. Since then, there have been more and more ulcers in the esophageal mucosa. 

Barrett esophagus 

The longer the ulcerative mucosal condition persists, the more likely it will stimulate the unreasonable production of mucosal cells in that area. From there, Barrett’s esophagus is formed. About 5% of Barrett’s esophagus cases are at risk of developing esophageal cancer. 

Esophageal cancer

If unreasonable cell production continues with favorable factors, the disease can quickly progress to esophageal cancer, especially in older people. Especially for people over 50 years old, with underlying diseases, smokers, drinkers, etc.

Cancer treatment is difficult, complicated, expensive and the possibility of cure is not high. Therefore, as soon as there are unusual symptoms, you should see a doctor to diagnose the disease as soon as possible. 

Diagnosis of grade A gastroesophageal reflux a

When you see a doctor, the doctor will ask about the patient’s condition, duration and severity of symptoms. If there are symptoms of belching, heartburn, belchingacidity, epigastric pain, bitter mouth, choking, can be preliminarily diagnosed as gastric reflux. 

After a preliminary diagnosis, the doctor will prescribe the patient to perform a number of paraclinical tests to accurately diagnose the disease as well as its severity:

Esophagogastroduodenoscopy >

This is the basic method to diagnose gastric reflux disease and its severity. Perform endoscopy by inserting a soft tube with a camera attached through the mouth into the esophagus and stomach. From there, the doctor observed images of damage to the lining of the stomach and esophagus. And a biopsy can be taken to test and diagnose the cause of the disease. 

X-rays 

Through X-ray images, it is possible to see narrowing of the esophagus, if any. 

Monitoring esophageal pH 

Monitoring within 24 hours is to assess the concentration of refluxed gastric fluid. 

Advice from doctors for reflux disease Grade a gastroesophageal reflux

In addition to medical treatment from doctors, measures to change habits, diet, and lifestyle are also extremely important to contribute to reducing the disease and preventing recurrence:

• Psychological comfort, joy, optimism, eliminating stress, eating, drinking, and resting properly
• Use foods that are good for the stomach such as yogurt, vegetable soup, fruits, cereals, etc. 
• Limit greasy foods, fast foods, processed foods, spicy foods, greasy foods,…
• Change bad habits in daily life such as eating too fast, not chewing thoroughly, overeating, eating while lying down,…
• Regularly exercise, maintain a stable weight, do not be overweight, obese,…
• Live in moderation, don’t stay up late, get enough sleep, take reasonable time to rest
• Change sleeping position or use specialized pillows for patients with gastric reflux. 
• Regularly re-examine to check health and disease status. 

Hopefully with the shares in the article about grade A gastroesophageal reflux helps people understand the condition. If you have unusual symptoms, you should see a doctor and have your health checked as soon as possible. 

Anh Thy