Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD is a type of digestive disorder in which the foods or fluids tend to travel backwards. The foods travel from the stomach to the esophagus, which is the tube from our mouth to stomach. This opposite action can cause irritation in the esophagus, thus resulting in heartburn and similar other symptoms. The disease is also recognized as Peptic esophagitis, GERD and Reflux esophagitis.

Gastroesophageal reflux is one of the most common conditions that doesn’t have any particular symptoms as such, but is triggered after meals. In some cases, the reflux is often related to certain problems with lower esophageal sphincter and a band of several muscle fibers that generally closes the esophagus from our stomach. If the sphincter isn’t properly closed, foods and fluids would move backward and get into the esophagus once again and this is exactly what happens in case of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD.

As digestive disorders are of different types, there are various steps of diagnosis as well. Depending on the condition of the patient, the methods of diagnosis would be determined. In either case, the doctor is the best person to decide what needs to be done. The process of diagnosis would involve appropriate procedures to determine the real problem, the severity of the disease and then plan the necessary course of treatment accordingly.

Noted below are some of the steps involved in diagnosing digestive disorders:

Medical History