Symptoms
The typical symptom of esophagitis is pain in swallowing (odynophagia). This is particularly pronounced in the mechanical-irritative form. Non-specific swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) also occur.
Often the pain behind the breastbone (retrosternal pain) is misinterpreted with pathological processes in the area of the heart and bronchial tubes. Particularly in the case of pronounced infectious esophagitis, bleeding, oedematous swelling or even scarring and, as a consequence, constriction (so-called stenoses) can occur, thus complicating the clinical picture. If other wall layers (especially the muscle layer) are also affected in addition to the mucous membrane, this can lead to disturbances in muscle function (peristalsis), which can cause swallowing difficulties and lead to reflux disease.
One of the main signs of inflammation is pain. It is accompanied by a restriction of function. In addition, swelling, redness and overheating often occur, which cannot be detected externally in the esophagus.
The pain is triggered in particular by touch and movement. It can range from an unpleasant feeling when eating to burning pain when breathing. Depending on the location of the inflammation, the pain is felt in the neck area or behind the breastbone up to the level of the stomach.
If the inflammation is severe, deep breathing is sufficient to trigger the pain. The movement of breathing causes the thorax to shift and thus to the esophagus. The slight movement already causes a sharp pain.
The strong pain of a pronounced esophagitis can radiate into the back. In this case the pain moves around the body to the back, parallel to the ribs. The pain can be sharp and painful with any kind of food intake, deep breathing and light movement and can be felt in the back.
Back pain is often misdiagnosed as nerve entrapment, pancreatic disease or generally as an orthopedic problem. However, if severe pain occurs when swallowing, esophagitis is likely. If the suspicion is confirmed, a gastroscopy must sometimes be performed by the doctor.
Typical signs of esophagitis are an unpleasant burning sensation in the chest, more precisely behind the breastbone, also known as “retro-sternal” burning. In many types of esophagitis, this is coupled with difficulty swallowing. Since the entire esophagus is about 25 cm long and is rarely completely affected by inflammation, the symptoms occur at different levels.
The swallowing difficulties also vary. In the case of a high esophagitis, the pain is already noticeable in the second of swallowing. In the case of a deep inflammation just before the stomach, the unpleasant feeling arrives with a certain delay.
The transport of food through the esophagus can take up to 8-9 seconds. If there is an inflammation caused by the pathogen, typical symptoms of infection can occur in addition to the difficulty in swallowing. These include weakness, fever or aching limbs. If the burning sensation behind the breastbone begins a few minutes after eating certain foods, this is also a sign of acid-related inflammation.Other typical signs can only be detected in a gastroscopy. A glance at the inner mucosa is sufficient for the doctor to detect an inflamed mucosa.
