Acid reflux and bad breath

Bad breath is a quite embarrassing conditionand can be caused by many reasons. The poor oral hygiene is the prime culpritfor this condition, but furthermore, bad breath may also appear due to dryness ofmouth when breathing through mouth, as well as due to sinus infection anddehydration. Respiratory tractinfections may also lead to the incidence of this embarrassing condition. Othercauses for the occurrence of bad breath are smoking, consummation of coffee,garlic, onion and fish. All of these causes can be easily treatedand cured, but when bad breath occurs due to acid reflux, the treatment is a bit more complicated.

Acid reflux and bad breath

Another term for acid reflux isgastroesophageal reflux disease, abbreviated GERD. This gastrointestinaldisorder is marked by the flowing of the fluid contents from the stomach backto the esophagus. This flowing back of the fluid contents is actually acidreflux and it happens in the case when the lower esophageal sphincter does not workas it should. The lower esophagus sphincter functions as a valve between thestomach and the esophagus, and when it is not closed tightly, the stomachcontents reflux into the esophagus. These stomach contents contain pepsin andacid.

The foods we eat have to be in anacidic environment in order to be broken down. When a long time passes from theeating and acid reflux, the stomach contents have a bad odor due to acid,bacteria and the digestive enzymes. Such stomach contents get to the throat andmouth resulting in bad breath. Bad breath can be even made worse when the foodswe eat contain garlic or onion. Bad breath caused by the gastroesophagealreflux disease cannot be controlled by the mouth fresheners, but only bycompletely eliminating acid reflux.

Frequent acid reflux may also causethe damage of the lining of the esophagus since the stomach contents areacidic in nature. The tissue that is damaged usually does not have enough timeto be healed completely until the next acid reflux so the dead tissueforms, thus causing unpleasant odor and bad breath.

Cure for bad breath from acid reflux

Acid reflux can be controlled tosome extent by eating small but frequent meals and avoiding the eating of spicyfoods. Furthermore, drinking a lot of water may also reduce the risk of theacid reflux. Orange peel extract and parsley arethe natural cures for this condition.