Make Your Own Gaviscon Advance or Double Action for Reflux Control DIY

Image from Amazon Before getting into how to make Gaviscon Advance  or Gaviscon Double Action yourself from its component ingredients, you first need to understand how each ingredient contributes to reflux control. If you want to skip to the recipe, look below. Alginate's affects on improving reflux has been known about for decades. Initial scientific studies on how it improves reflux were conducted in the 1980s. Alginates are natural polysaccharide polymers isolated from brown…

11/18/2016 8

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Patients Who Travel a Long Distance for Care

Image courtesy of tigger11th at FreeDigitalPhotos.net In 2014, our practice made the difficult decision of no longer accepting new patients or performing any surgeries who live outside the Virginia region of the United States (specifically Northern Virginia) with the exception of a few conditions. The reasons are many in spite of what many (upset) patients felt to be an unwarranted geographic limitation. This blog tries to explain why we have taken this step which is still in effect today…

10/27/2015 0

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What Does the Uvula Do?

Given how frequently doctors look in peoples' mouths, physicians probably get asked this question a dozen times a day by curious patients.  This question of uvular function also extended into ancient times with a variety of theories proposed over the years... Hippocrates and Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. and Berenargio da Carpri in 1900 referred to the uvula only as a source of possible inflammation and edema capable of causing suffocation. Galen (122-199 A.D.) considered it to be…

5/31/2015 0

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How Does Alginate Help Reflux?

Alginate's affects on improving reflux has been known about for decades. Initial scientific studies on how it improves reflux were conducted in the 1980s. Alginates are natural polysaccharide polymers isolated from brown seaweed ( Phacophycae ) and is classified as dietary fiber. Their ability to form viscous solutions and gels have led to their extensive use in foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products for over one century. As it pertains to reflux, perhaps the most interesting …

4/02/2015 0

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Color of Snot (Infographic)

1/29/2015 0

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30% of Patients with Reflux will NOT Respond to Medications

Specifically, patients who are suffering with throat symptoms of reflux will often not respond to proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) medications. Such throat symptoms include  throat-clearing , phlegmy throat , cough , hoarseness, and globus . Known as LPR (laryngopharyngeal reflux), a study was done measuring the pH at the throat level after 4+ weeks of twice daily PPI. This retrospective study found that although 67.4% had symptom normalization, 32.6% of patients showed no subjective or ob…

3/24/2014 0

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