can a person die from acid reflex -GERD

Dear Yvette,

Adults with long term acid exposure from GERD may develop a condition called Barrett's Esophagus. This is a very serious condition and may be life threatening. That is why doctors screen patients and provide acid reducing medications.

I hope that I have answered your question.

Jan Gambino

whats the difference between erosive esophagus and barretts esophagus?

Acid reflux does not cause death directly.untreated gerd lead to a major problems.like erosive eosophge..and other serious probleme.so u need a treattment continusly

Hi Yvette,

It makes sense that any medical condition left untreated has the potential for being life threatening in some manner but we're lucky in this day and age we don't have to let medical conditions go untreated.

You didn't give any information about your specific condition, but there is some information here you might find interesting. I do want to caution you that while online sites are wonderful resources for information pertaining to medical conditions and possible treatments, they should not be taken in place of your doctor's sound medical advice and care. If you think you have a condition that might be considered to be life threatening, then you should seek medical advice as quickly as possible. If you want to share some information about your concerns, I can find information that might be directly related, but here is some general information in the meantime.

I am not sure if you have been diagnosed with Acid Reflux or GERD, but here are some links to general information. You can read about GERD here in the overview and you can check your symptoms here in the symptoms database. Once you have seen your doctor, if he prescribes medication for GERD, you can read about them here in the drugs database. You can also research treatments available and alternatives here in the treatments database.

As Jan mentioned, when you have an acid reflux attack, that acid comes into your esophagus burning the tissue. When this happens enough, it can cause a pre cancerous condition known as Barrett's Esophagus. Barrett's is treatable but it takes an aggressive treatment for a long time under the careful eye of your physician. It is not treated or cured by only taking medications prescribed for GERD. You can read more about Barrett's esophagus here in the conditions database. Dr. Todd Eisner goes into great detail about the condition and some of the treatments recommended in this sharepost where he answered questions by members who have Barrett's. As you can see from his posting, Barrett's requires extensive monitoring via surveillance endoscopies.

Esophagitus is chronic GERD or Acid Reflux. When it happens often enough and causes estensive damage and injury to the esophagus, then it is Erosive Esophagitis. You can read about erosive esophagitis here.

I hope this helps somewhat. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!

Vicki M

hi can a person die from acid reflex -GERD