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Understanding Reflux and How It Can Affect Your Voice
Do you ever wake up feeling croaky or hoarse, or with a dry and scratchy throat? Does the idea of extra chilli make you feel like your insides are on fire? Perhaps you suffer from reflux!
What Is Gastroesophageal Reflux?
Gastroesophageal reflux occurs when stomach acid travels up your oesophagus (food pipe) into your throat. Most people experience symptoms of burning in the chest and throat when this happens. Others, however, experience silent reflux — reflux without the pain.
Reflux can pool around your larynx, affecting your voice. An ENT surgeon can perform a video stroboscopy, where they visualise your vocal cords using a flexible camera. This procedure can reveal signs of reflux.
Common Triggers That Make Reflux Worse
Reflux can worsen with certain foods and drinks. Acidic options such as garlic, chilli, coffee, and carbonated drinks are common culprits.
Eating food late at night can also make reflux worse, especially when you lie flat to sleep. When lying flat, stomach acid doesn’t have to fight gravity and can therefore travel faster up into your throat.
To help prevent reflux overnight, it’s often recommended to sleep on an incline.
Finding Comfort While You Sleep
If you suffer from reflux, you may have tried many ways to prop yourself upright at night. Unfortunately, this often results in a stiff neck — and a visit to your physiotherapist!
Flexipillow has developed a practical solution — the bed wedge. It’s a comfortable, memory foam wedge that provides a gentle recline, keeping your stomach acid where it should be. It also solves the common problem of elevating your side of the bed while keeping your partner lying flat.
Try the Bed Wedge at Performance Medicine
If you struggle with reflux, drop into Performance Medicine to try out the bed wedge — you’ll never look back!
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