Therapy

The therapy for oesophageal pain depends on the underlying disease. In the case of reflux esophagitis, it is necessary to reduce the concentration of gastric acid and thus its ascent into the esophagus. For this purpose, so-called acid blockers (proton pump inhibitors) are used in most cases.

As a rule, the affected patient must take these drugs for life. In addition, a surgical correction of the lower sphincter muscle of the esophagus can be performed. Patients suffering from pain in the esophagus caused by diverticula can only be helped in the long term by surgical removal of the wall protuberances. The aim of the treatment of achalasia is to dilate the lower esophageal sphincter. This can be achieved by local injections or surgical dilatation.

Prognosis

The prognosis of esophageal pain depends on the causative disease. Both reflux disease and achalasia can be treated well. Patients who suffer from malignant changes in the esophagus have a rather poor prognosis.

Causal diseases

The term “reflux disease” (synonyms: reflux esophagitis, heartburn, gastroesophageal reflux disease) is understood in medical terminology as a disease in which there is a pathologically increased reflux of acid gastric juice into the esophagus. Since the mucous membranes of the esophagus have a completely different structure than the stomach mucosa, the latter has little resistance to the acidic properties of the gastric fluid. As a result, inflammatory processes can develop in the esophagus over time.

In addition, there is the possibility that the mucosal cells may adopt structural changes due to the permanent irritation. In most cases, gastroesophageal reflux disease is caused by a functional disorder of the lower sphincter muscle of the esophagus. In addition, important risk factors that promote the development of reflux disease have been uncovered.The most important risk factors are: The symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease are quite clear in most cases.

Typically, the affected patients feel the pain in the esophagus immediately behind the breastbone. The oesophageal pain perceived by the patient usually increases in intensity after large meals, when bending down and when lying down.

Fatty foods (e.g.
chocolate)
Pungent spices
Peppermint
Alcohol
Coffee
Nicotine
Overweight
Various medicines (e.g. aspirin).

Achalasia is a disease in which the lower sphincter muscle of the esophagus at the transition to the stomach cannot be fully opened. In most cases, the mobility of the esophageal muscles (motility) is also severely restricted. The reasons for the occurrence of this disease can be malignant changes in the esophageal tissue.

Furthermore, it is now assumed that various forms of achalasia can be triggered by autoimmune processes. Also the development by viral pathogens (especially by: Varicella zoster virus, measles virus and human papilloma virus) is possible. Typical symptoms of achalasia are pronounced pain in the esophagus, which is mainly perceived as pain behind the breastbone and in the middle upper abdomen.

In addition to the pain, many of the affected patients report swallowing difficulties (dysphagia). Since food intake is significantly reduced by most patients in the early stages of the disease due to the severe pain and the pronounced impairment of the swallowing process, they suffer from significant weight loss and malnutrition. This problem is particularly prevalent in children suffering from achalasia with pain in the esophagus and difficulty swallowing.

Patients suffering from esophageal diverticula also develop severe pain in the area of the esophagus. In contrast to achalasia, however, the localization of this pain is usually in the upper to middle section of the esophagus. Esophageal diverticula are pathological protrusions of the esophageal wall.

In principle, diverticula can develop at any point of the esophagus. However, most patients show such a wall protrusion in the upper and/or middle section of the esophagus. Reasons for the development of an esophageal diverticulum with severe pain can be, for example, changes in the cell architecture and increased pressure within the esophagus.

While smaller diverticula remain completely asymptomatic in most cases, i.e. the affected patient feels no pain at all, large wall bulges show up quite early due to pronounced symptoms. In the beginning, the affected patients usually do not complain of pain, but they do complain of a pronounced foreign body sensation. In addition, swallowing difficulties can occur at the beginning of the disease.

In the course of the disease, pronounced esophageal diverticula cause sometimes severe pain in the esophagus, which is mainly felt in the neck and behind the sternum. Since food deposits often occur in the area of the wall bulges during food intake, most affected persons suffer from bad breath (foeter ex ore) even before the first pains occur. A narrowing of the oesophagus causes a narrowing of the esophagus, usually in the lower part.

This means that food can no longer be transported to the stomach as usual. The narrowing can have various causes, such as heartburn or inflammation of the esophagus. Oesophageal divertricles (oesophageal diverticula) are pain caused by bulging of the oesophageal wall, which can take two different forms: True divertricles (traction divertricles) and false divertricles (pulsation or pseudodivertricles), depending on which wall layers are also affected.

The most common form is with 70% of the Zenker divertricles. This is a so-called emulsion divertricle. You will find further information under our topic: esophageal diverticula Most esophageal inflammations and the resulting pain in the esophagus are caused by reflux disease.

Otherwise, there are also mechanical-irritant, thermal, chemical infectious (eg: the yeast Candida albicans) causes. The swallowing pain is the leading symptom of these diseases.The esophageal cancer develops almost exclusively from a beret – esophagus and can therefore also be called a secondary disease of the reflux disease. The esophageal cancer metastasizes early and causes no or only unspecific symptoms for a long time.

Because it is therefore detected late, the survival prognosis for patients with this tumor disease is usually poor. You can find further information under our topic:

Esophageal cancer
Therapy esophageal cancer

Many patients who suffer from long-lasting or constantly recurring pain in the area of the esophagus often ask themselves what helps against this problem. In this context, it should be noted that persistent or recurring oesophageal pain requires urgent medical attention and appropriate treatment.

If the pain in the area of the esophagus occurs for the first time, there are a few tips and aids to help against the symptoms. If the pain in the area of the esophagus is classic heartburn, the patient’s own diet should be analyzed first. The frequent consumption of sweets or fatty foods and the excessive consumption of alcohol can cause stomach acid to rise up into the esophagus and cause pain.

Affected patients can therefore alleviate the discomfort simply by changing their diet. Patients for whom even this measure does not lead to the desired success ask themselves what exactly helps against the pain in the area of the esophagus. In some cases, simple home remedies have proven to be extremely effective in treating harmless pain in the esophagus.

The regular consumption of chamomile tea, for example, helps to calm the stomach and reduce its acid production. As a result, less stomach acid can rise and the pain in the esophagus decreases. In a similar way, the consumption of fennel tea helps to relieve pain in the esophagus.

Another household remedy that helps with this problem is ginger. Ginger juice can be purchased in the form of ready-made preparations or extracted from a ripe tuber. If you soak the tuber in mineral water for a few hours or put the prepared juice directly into some tea, the distortion can help to inhibit the production of stomach acid. Other home remedies that help to alleviate harmless pain in the esophagus are Caraway linseed mallow flower marshmallow root healing clay

Caraway seeds
Linseed
Mallow blossom
Marshmallow root
Healing earth
Base mixtures of potassium, sodium and calcium