Esophageal spasms can make eating and digesting food a painful process. That's because the spasms can make if difficult for food to get to where it's supposed to go, which is to your stomach. Here are some ways to find out if your discomfort is caused by esophageal spasms.
Instructions
Identify Esophageal Spasms
1. Know what esophageal spasms are. Esophageal spasms are muscle contractions that block food from passing to the stomach. This can cause intense pain in your chest, difficulty in swallowing, painful swallowing, a feeling that something is stuck in your throat, regurgitation, or heartburn.
2. Become familiar with the symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. GERD and esophageal spasms are similar and can be mistaken for one another. With GERD, acid from the stomach flows back into the esophagus, causing inflammation. Symptoms include heartburn, a sour taste in your mouth, chest pain, particularly at night when lying down, difficulty swallowing, coughing, wheezing, or regurgitation of food or sour liquid.
3. Be cautious of the triggers for esophageal spasms. Eating extremely hot or cold food can cause esophageal spasms. GERD and other problems with the esophagus can lead to spasms. The condition is more common in women and your chances for developing this condition increase with age.
4. If you are having symptoms, go see a doctor. A number of tests including a CT scan can be used in making a diagnosis. Also, chest pains, which are among the symptoms should always be checked out by a doctor.
