Acid Reflux Cough

Acid reflux can cause a cough? Yes, it can. Many people think of acid reflux as being a primarily a problem with the GI tract, and that’s true. However, reflux can cause problems beyond the GI tract and that’s what acid reflux cough is all about.

To understand how it happens, think back to a time when you tried to swallow something and it “went down the wrong way”. That is, some of it went into your wind pipe. You probably remember coughing violently.

Well, that’s essentially what’s happening with acid reflux cough. If reflux is bad enough, gastric acid backs all the way up the esophagus to the area of the larynx. At that point some of it can leak into the larynx and wind pipe, causing irritation and coughing.

But that’s not the only thing that can happen. The stomach acid can reach the lungs, causing damage there. It extreme cases, it has even resulted in extensive lung scarring. Also, it can predispose to asthma, making the person much more likely to have an acute episode.

Another symptom that often goes along with a cough caused by acid reflux is hoarseness. The vocal cords are in the larynx so if there is acid in the region they can become irritated. Irritated, raw vocal cords don’t work well, which shows up as hoarseness.

When an ear nose and throat doctor examines the vocal cords, they can see irritation, but not what’s causing it. If the patient also has heartburn, the doctor will probably realize what’s going on, but surprisingly, some people can have a cough caused by reflux without having heartburn.

Or more commonly, they take antacids or other medications to eliminate the heartburn, but the reflux is still causing a cough or hoarseness. They see the doctor complaining of those symptoms, but forget to mention that they are treating themselves for heartburn because they aren’t aware of the possible connection. That’s one reason it’s important to be aware of the connection between reflux and coughing and to tell your doctor about all your problems.

Reflux to the area of the vocal cords is much more likely to happen at night when a person is lying down. This is an area where an acid reflux wedge pillow can help greatly.

I hope helps you understand just how an acid reflux cough comes about. 

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