Does hiatal hernia cause coughing?

If you’ve ever wondered whether a hiatal hernia can cause coughing, the answer is definitely “maybe”. But don’t worry – I’ll get into all the nuances of this topic in great detail below. So put on your reading glasses and get ready for some serious herniated belly button talk!

Let’s start with the basics: what is a hiatal hernia?

Before we discuss whether a hiatal hernia can lead to coughing fits, it helps to understand this condition first. A hiatal hernia occurs when part of the stomach protrudes upward through the diaphragm muscle that normally separates it from the chest cavity.

There are two types of hiatal hernias:

1) Sliding
2) Paraesophageal

Let me break them down further…

Sliding Hiatus Hernias…because scooting pillows ain’t just for couches

The most common type of hiatal hernia is called sliding, which accounts for about 95% of cases. As its name implies, this type slides up and down inside your body – how delightful! It happens because the top part of your stomach moves above (and sometimes even below) where it should be.

Usually, sliding hiatus hernias don’t cause any symptoms or complications besides acid reflux (which is really no picnic!). But there’s more- let’s not discount their possible role in triggering certain kinds of coughs…

The para-BESTrophrax? Nope-PARAESOPHAGEAL!

Paraesophageal hiatus-hernias add not only “paraesoph” onto “hiatus-hern-radias”, but also introduces greater health risks than sliding hiatus-hern radias does. “Para” here means next to or adjacent; within ‘the food tube’ so-to-speak— aka esophagus.

Essentially, this type of hernia happens when part of the stomach squeezes through a small opening next to the esophagus (the tube that carries food from your mouth). The awry belly can get trapped in its new location and cause serious issues i.e. it blocks blood flow or—more commonly—it twists on itself impacting not only your digestive track but also circulation.

Now that we’ve gone over what exactly a hiatal hernia is, let’s talk about what it can potentially do to our respiratory system…

Coughing: A Possible Symptom?

When people think of hiatal hernias, they most likely associate them with gastrointestinal distress such as heartburn or acid reflux. However, some studies done for researching if coughing could be symptomatically related to hiatus-hern-radias have yielded results favouring their direct impact on airways…

Some research has shown that there may indeed be an association between hiatal hernias and certain types of chronic coughs – those that occur without any other visible trigger like suspected allergies/smoking/having played Magic Eraser-maracas… you know – typical culprits!

The idea behind this theory is that when part of the stomach pushes into the chest cavity due to having parted ways with its vagus nerve anchor support gone awry mid-section—that bulging factor—puts pressure onto other structures, including nerve endings around your lungs, causing an annoying irritant effect which triggers repetitive violent spasms responsible for cough fits.”

Don’t worry- It’s okay to take a brief moment here because yawning after learning fun-science thingys is natural! But stay awake—we’re going deeper down these esophageal stairs now:

Research Studies Supporting Cough /Hiatus Herniation Correlation

Researchers are studying whether there’s actually a connection between hiatal hernias and chronic coughs without association from clearly definable causes unrelated entirely to digestion.

Some Studies discussing hiatus herniation and associated symptoms(existence of GERD, heartburn) include:
– Koufman JA, Amin MR, Panetti M. Reflux and cough: What is the connection? Pulm Pharmacol Ther 2003;16(1):47–56.
[Note the title only mentions reflex but also addresses hiatal-hernia-mediated reflex relay triggering chronic coughs.] (Riveting concept you learned there – Reflexes induced by reactions to reflux driven by rushing stomach acid acting like WWE wrestlers bouncing off your food tube into your lung areas.)

  • Dean BB, Gano AD Jr., Knight K, Ofman JJ Fass R. Effectiveness of proton pump inhibitors in nonerosive reflux disease Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2004;2(8):656–664.
    Research study conducted to determine effectiveness of medication for treating Non-Erosive Reflux Disease was actually disturbed with some tantalizing yet “distracting” finding—they recommended having a colonoscopy done due to excessive coughing during procedures as an accompanying side-effect that were distressful on patients.

  • Ferri FF. Cough associated with gastroesophageal reflux disease Ann Intern Med 1999;131(10):823–827.
    At this point your brain has adjusted well enough to scientific journal vocabularies— Have you noticed though that researchers love using long titles or subtitles combining common words together?

How can we treat Hiatus Hernias effectively?

It’s not uncommon for people who suffer from hiatal hernias to try various methods such as lifestyle changes i.e weight loss/etc./medication.But sometimes Surgery could be considered if these prove ineffective or when facing high risks from paraesophaeal hernia impacting circulation/ overall digestive pathway.So chat with physicians/surgeons about potential options…to keep down your vomit but also help manage hernia-induced coughing fits or risks.

Conclusion:

So, does a hiatal hernia cause coughing? The answer is still not entirely clear . However, some studies suggest that there may indeed be an association between the two. Therefore if you’re suffering from chronic bouts of cough and cannot determine the root culprits – consulting your physician could be a great opportunity to discuss underlying causes associated with digestive irregularities such as hiatal-herniation…this might just save you countless trips down my comical esophageal staircase!

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