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A person suffering from chronic Acid Reflux disease, must be very alert about the possibility of it degenerating into something, that is life threatening.

A lifetime of acidic fluid swishing up into the Esophagus, scarring and burning the walls; more and more food going down this path, tangling with the ulcerated surface, the subsequent laxness in the movement of the Esophageal contractions as it moves the food downward towards the stomach - all these factors contribute to some serious afflictions.

Infants and children who have Acid reflux may not vomit, but may still have stomach contents that move up the food pipe and spill over into the windpipe and affect the lungs. Asthma, pneumonia, and even SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) can happen. Infants and children with reflux who vomit frequently may display unsatisfactory growth.

Stomach fluids that reflux into the esophagus damage the cells lining the esophagus. The body typically then reacts with inflammation and this is called Erosive Esophagitis. .

Ulcers and the additional associated inflammation gives rise to bleeding into the esophagus. Sometimes, the bleeding can be severe and may cause severe anemia and require transfusions of blood and endoscopic or surgical treatments.

All this scar tissue and ulceration of the wall of the food pipe, effectively narrows it, causing a natural barrier to easy passage of food. This makes swallowing difficult. Airways narrowing can cause shortness of breath and wheezing.

Finally, a long standing scarred and ulcerated Esophagus, constantly awash with gastric acid reflux, often causes a change for the worse, in the nature of the cells lining the Esophageal wall. These cells then become pre-cancerous, and finally cancerous. This condition is referred to as Barrett’s esophagus, which occurs in approximately 10% of patients with Acid Reflux. Today, we find an increase in the frequency of those diagnosed with Barrett’s Esophagus.

Finally, there are a bunch of nerves in the lower part of the Esophagus, which get disturbed by the Acid Reflux flushing back. This sometimes result in a pain we call heartburn; other times, these nerves transmit the disturbance to some other nerves, that cause constriction of the lung airways, and cough, causing the patient to get breathless.