I am at witts ends having just moved from a large city into a small Northern BC town where I may be burning bridges and unable to find the type of family physician who will support my means of addressing medical conditions. My physician however will not send me to the one and only GI physician this town has left who even if I could get a referral is backlogged until October. I refer to my symptoms as flair ups. What intelligent enquiry can I make of my family phys. Dear Ann Reynolds, Reflux of acid from the stomach into the esophagus can produce coughing by 2 different mechanisms.
Acid reflux can induce a nerve reflex, the end result of which is bronchospasm.
The second mechanism by which acid reflux causes pulmonary symptoms is aspiration of the refluxed contents, that is the gastric juices enter the lungs. At present, medical opinion does not consider the presence of a hiatal hernia to be a causative factor for reflux. These hernias are very common in both people with symptomatic reflux as well as those without symptoms. I am uncertain that the symptoms that you describe are related to the hernia. It is a simple process to confirm whether esophageal reflux is a serious problem for you.