Q: My mother is surviving only on boiled vegetables and rice for nearly 3 years now and I cant see her in such a state. She has a strict diet and does not take any spices but nothing works. Even a little chilly causes problems and it is difficult to sleep with the burning sensation.Her digestion is perfect but I think acid enters the oesophagus at night and she can't sleep and takes Larpose. She also has low haemoglobin levels (8.2). So I am in a quandary whether the problem is with acidity or anaemia. She takes Antacid like Mucaine Gel, Tab - Omez 20 mg. Wockadine garg. Recently took Vitcofol. If the issue was with acidity, then strict diet would have solved the issue, don't you think? Any help will be much appreciated.

A:It sounds as if your mother has reflux oesophagitis. This occurs when the acid from the stomach goes up the gullet. The gullet is not used to having acid so the lining becomes sore and raw. When she then eats anything spicy or drinks hot liquids it will give her a burning pain behind the chest bone (heart burn).There are several things she can try: 1. She should not lie flat in bed at night. Put a brick under the legs of her bed at the head end. This will prevent the acid going up the gullet. 2. She shouldn't lift anything heavy - this puts pressure on the stomach and pushes the acid up. 3. If she is over-weight she must lose weight. Fat around the lower end of the gullet will make the sphincter at the bottom end of the gullet less effective in preventing the acid going up. 4. She should probably have an endocsopy to see how raw the lower end of the gullet is. Ask your doctor. 5. She could raise the amount of omeprazole up to 60 mg - ask your doctor. Add gaviscon liquid - 2 teaspoonful 3 times a day. 6. Lastly the anaemia. This should be investigated. It can be due to reflux oesophagitiws but it should really be investigated to find out the cause of it. Hope this is helpful.