GERD stands for gastroesophageal reflux disease. If you have GERD, the ring of muscle that sits between your esophagus and your stomach doesn't work properly. The muscle opens even when food is not passing through. And the muscle may stay open for too long. When this happens, acid from your stomach can flow back up into your esophagus. Doctors call this backward flow "reflux." You get heartburn when the acid flows back into your esophagus. If you get heartburn regularly you may have GERD.

The good news is that there's a whole range of treatments for GERD. Your doctor may discuss the ones listed below.

Your doctor may suggest that you make changes to your diet and lifestyle. Making these changes should help cut down on the amount of stomach acid that flows back up into your esophagus. These changes should also limit the amount of damage done to the lining of your esophagus.

You can buy antacids over the counter. Antacids cut down on the amount of acid in your stomach, and this means that there is less acid that can flow back into your esophagus.

Drug treatment doesn't cure GERD. But it aims to:

• Make you feel better
• Allow any inflammation or damage in your esophagus (the tube that carries food from your throat to your stomach) to heal
• Keep GERD from causing more serious problems in your digestive system
• Prevent problems that can occur outside your digestive system (such as coughing and wheezing)
• Improve your quality of life.

Surgery aims to make you feel better, too, but it is also used to try to cure GERD. You have surgery to fix the ring of muscle that sits between your esophagus and stomach. When this muscle works properly it keeps acid from flowing back from your stomach and up into your esophagus.

• If you have symptoms, such as heartburn, several times a week, you probably won't get better without treatment.
• Drugs can't cure GERD but they can make you feel better and keep your esophagus from being damaged.
• If you have drug treatment, proton pump inhibitors work best.
• Drugs called H2 antagonists also work. But they don't work as well or as fast as proton pump inhibitors.
• Proton pump inhibitors are more expensive than H2 antagonists but you may need to take less of them. This may make them cheaper in the long run.
• If you stop taking medication, your symptoms will probably come back.
• Surgery also works, and the benefits are long lasting. Most people remain free of symptoms for six years to 20 years after surgery.