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Q: Can acid reflux cause sore throat?

A: It sure can. Usually acid reflux affects mostly the esophagus, the long narrow tube that connects your stomach and your throat. This is called gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. But in some people, acid reflux flows all the way up the esophagus and into the back of the throat, a condition known as laryngopharyngeal reflux disease (LPRD).

Symptoms of LPRD
When acid reflux reaches the throat, it can cause an irritated or sore throat, frequent throat clearing, intermittent hoarseness, chronic cough, a consistently bad taste in the mouth, a feeling that you have a lump in your throat and asthma-like symptoms, according to Dr. C. Richard Stasney, an otorhinolaryngologist, director of the Texas Voice Center in Houston and clinical professor at Weill Cornell Medical College. Yet, “a lot of these people [with LPRD] don’t experience heartburn,” says Stasney.

Treatment of LPRD
As with acid reflux in the esophagus, acid reflux that affects the throat is treated with a combination of lifestyle modifications and medication. For LPRD, “proton pump inhibitors are the most effective medications,” says Stasney. Often, doctors will put someone with a suspected case of LPRD on a trial dose of proton pump inhibitors to see if symptoms improve -- a convenient way to diagnose and treat the problem simultaneously.

This Live Right Live Well Ask the Expert was written by journalist Stacey Colino.

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