What is Reflux, or acid reflux, or GORD?

Water brash is a typical symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD), it occurs when a person produces an excessive amount of saliva that mixes with stomach acids that have risen to the throat. A person experiencing water brash can get a sour taste in their mouth and would typically experience reflux as a feeling of “heartburn” or rising burning discomfort in the central chest.

This is because the contents of the stomach (which is normally in the abdomen or ‘belly’) are acidic, and this passes up out of the stomach into the oesophagus (‘gullet’ or ‘food pipe’) behind your breastbone, which will create the burning sensation. Occasional reflux is considered normal, but when it becomes excessive or problematic it is abnormal. Other feelings can be experienced too, such as a feeling of fullness or fluid rising to your throat, an ‘off’ taste in your mouth (known as ‘acid waterbrash’), excessive belching, cough, throat clearing or voice changes (‘laryngo-pharyngeal reflux’ or LPR). Occasionally, reflux can ‘silently’ pass into your lungs as aspiration causing a chest infection or cause shortness of breath. The reflux may be caused by a variety of things, such as certain foods or drinks, or by a weakness in the ‘valve’ between the stomach and oesophagus. A hiatus hernia, as described below, may contribute to this weakness of the valve, but not always. Remember, not all patients with reflux have a hiatus hernia. Similarly, not all patients with a hiatus hernia have reflux.