Could i have acid reflux? Please anyone read this and try to help?

Question

I've been diagnosed with asthma, about 1 or 2 years ago. Maybe even 3. It wasn't severe, and i really didn't have any symptoms, but the doctor told me to get a check up for it, and he said that i had asthma. i was prescribed to take a Qvar inhaler (beciomethasone dipropionate HFA 40mcg) once daily. And an albueterol inhaler whenever i needed it. Eventually i stopped using both of them after maybe a month or two and i was fine unless i ran a lot or just heavily exercised, in which i used the albueterol. Somebody once told me they had asthma and eventually it went away and turned into acid reflux.

Well now it really hurts me to swallow, and this started 2 days ago after i got off a 10 hour flight from germany to cincinatti. My parents say its nothing to worry about and that it was just the air pressure and that itll go away soon. I cant go to the doctor now or tomorrow bc the offices are closed and ER cost way too much.

Its hard to drink or eat. I really have no idea what to do, it even hurts to swallow my spit. And it got worse this morning. I'm afraid it'll get worse and some people told me theres a chance it could be something serious that could permanently damage my throat.

Answer 1

Dear JustMe-  Most of what raspberry says is accurate.  Asthma and acid reflux are not connected.  The "valve" referred to is the gastro-esophageal muscular ring at the bottom of the esophagus which normal closes to,prevent the strong, burning stomach acid from back-flowing (refluxing) into and on to the inner lining of the esophagus.  Sadly during your long flight on the plane the air is re-circulated throughout the plane without any filtering.  Thus it is possible for "germs" to be coughed out by someone in the front of the plane to someone in the rear of the plane. Betting, the odds are 95% that you have a virus sore throat infection.  Take fluids, especially soothing ones such as tea with honey, and throat lozenges and rest if you can.  Antibiotics will not help a virus cold which should disappear or start getting better in 3 days.  If your temperatures rises to 101 degrees or higher, or the cold lasts longer than 3 days, get to your doctor or health clinic for a Rapid Strep Test (5% chance) to see if you need to start immediately on an appropriate prescription antibiotic.  If the fever lasts over 5 days, get the MONOSPOT test for possible mononucleosis.  Good luck.

Answer 2

That doesn't sound like acid reflux to me.  Acid reflux is persistent heart burn caused by the valve between your throat and your stomach not closing properly.  It feels more like warmth or burning in your chest, and sometimes an acid taste in the back of your mouth.  I've never heard of asthma turning into acid reflux; as far as I know, the two conditions are unrelated.

It's possible that you got sick from your flight.  There are a lot of diseases that are easily spread in close quarters, and the conditions on board an airplane (especially on a 10-hour flight, ouch) are pretty much perfect for a lot of them.

What I'd recommend doing is taking a flashlight and a mirror, and looking in the back of your throat (or having someone else do so).  What you're looking for are your tonsils.  They're located on either side of the beginning of your throat, and are usually not very impressive.  If they look swollen to you, and especially if they have white or green patches on them, you should contact your doctor and ask for a strep and/or mono test.  Those are both highly communicable diseases that make your throat hurt and make swallowing very painful.  Neither will permanently damage your throat, though (I've had both myself, and I'm now fine).

In the meantime, I find that warm liquids (like peppermint or ginger tea) help with sore throats.  Eat well, drink lots of fluids and get lots of rest.