Bile Reflux: Symptoms and Natural Treatment Options

Reflux, of any type, can be debilitating and lead to a reduction in quality of life. While many older adults suffer from acid reflux, there are some who also live with complications involving bile reflux. If you've noticed a change in your loved one's digestion, it is important to understand how bile reflux may be of concern and what you can to do help resolve the condition naturally.

Unlike acid reflux, bile reflux is a complication involving the liver fluids that have escaped into the stomach, and are traveling to the esophagus. Like acid reflux, bile reflux can be quite painful and lead to complications involving cancer but, unlike acid reflux, this reflux is not attributed, directly, to stomach fluids.

If your loved one has a history of liver or bile complications, it is important to inquire about the symptoms being experienced and ask a physician about bile reflux. While the physician may be, initially, inclined to treat the condition as acid reflux, bile reflux testing may be necessary to confirm, or rule out, the condition. In older adults, maintaining a very low fat diet will help with minimizing the production of bile and, ultimately, this will help to alleviate the condition.

In prolonged cases of bile reflux, there may be a need for surgery, to repair any complication involving the liver and to address issues involving sphincter control. But, ultimately, controlling the condition with heartburn-alleviating medications, and a low fat diet, is effective. Using acid reducers will typically not work in bile reflux as the condition is not an acid reflux issue.

Over time, many adults develop bile reflux but the body has a way of keeping homeostasis. If you are caring for an aging parent who has a history of eating high fatty foods, then there is a greater risk that bile reflux will be more challenging to treat. Much like silent reflux in babies, this condition can develop without a patient realizing it is a concern until, ultimately, there are major liver and esophageal complications present. Always seek out medical attention, especially if the liver has historically been abnormal due to other health conditions.

Sources: Chronic Heartburn, by Barbara Wendland