Other fluids thought to irritate the upper airway tract are bile salts, bacteria, pancreatic proteolytic agents, and pepsin. (1) Extraesophageal acid reflux symptoms are thought to be caused by LPR. LPR has the greatest impact on quality of life. Patients with LPR often suffer from hoarseness, chronic voice loss, sore throat, and laryngitis.
What happens to your voice when you have LPR?
Patients with LPR often suffer from hoarseness, chronic voice loss, sore throat, and laryngitis. (2) These symptoms can be especially detrimental to teachers, singers, and other people who use their voice for a living.
Why are so many doctors over diagnosing LPR?
(3) Doctors going way overboard diagnosing LPR could be part of the reason for the difficulty. The majority of primary care physicians will diagnose a patient experiencing hoarseness with LPR and prescribe PPIs with no further examination. ( 3) More concerning is that a lot of doctors get it wrong.
Is it possible to get LPR after reflux treatment?
Further, LPR is notoriously hard to treat. One study found that only 54% of LPR patients experience improvement or resolve their symptoms even after completing reflux therapy.
Why does PPIs make you think you have LPR?
PPIs can make you think you have LPR. The big problem with this sort of treatment is if you stop taking PPIs after long-term use you’ll probably get rebound reflux. Rebound reflux is likely to occur because when you stop taking PPIs, your stomach tends to over-produce acid to readjust. That means more reflux episodes.
What does LPR stand for in medical terms?
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), also known as “silent GERD” is thought to occur when acidic stomach contents reflux into the larynx and pharyngeal area, causing irritation and damage.
Further, LPR is notoriously hard to treat. One study found that only 54% of LPR patients experience improvement or resolve their symptoms even after completing reflux therapy.
Other fluids thought to irritate the upper airway tract are bile salts, bacteria, pancreatic proteolytic agents, and pepsin. (1) Extraesophageal acid reflux symptoms are thought to be caused by LPR. LPR has the greatest impact on quality of life. Patients with LPR often suffer from hoarseness, chronic voice loss, sore throat, and laryngitis.
