How to Measure Acid Reflux
- 1). Immediately seek the counsel of your doctor if your acid reflux becomes a common occurrence or does not respond to over-the-counter antacids. One easy method a doctor may use to determine for sure if your acid reflux may be something more serious like GERD is by prescribing a medication like Prilosec, which blocks stomach secretion. This method can usually identify which patients need more serious treatment for the disease. Doctors may also call on other methods like an upper endoscopy, barium-swallow radiograph or even blood and stool tests which, while they may not precisely measure the amount of acid reflux, can identify symptoms and complications often associated with it.
- 2). Esophageal pH monitoring is the most common method for determining the amount of acid reflux in your esophagus. In this procedure, doctors insert a plastic catheter through a nostril, down the throat and into the esophagus at the point where most acid reflux occurs. At the tip of this catheter is a sensor that detects acid, and it passes this information back through the catheter and out of the nose to a recorder that monitors the amount of reflux. You will take this home and go through your daily routine for a day. The next day, doctors remove the catheter and study the readings in accordance with a diary of your daily activities to better assess the problem.
- 3). A more recent variation on the esophageal pH monitoring technique involves a capsule fitted with an acid sensory probe, a battery and a transmitter. In this technique, the capsule is placed at the end of a catheter, inserted through your nose and attached to the esophageal lining. At this point the catheter is detached and the capsule transmits the pertinent information until the battery dies. This procedure allows you the freedom to go about your daily routine without the nuisance of the protruding catheter while still accurately measuring acid reflux levels.
