Medical Innovations: The Pill Cam Eso

Diagnosing acid reflux can be a particularly problematic process. Acid reflux is an issue for many people, and if left untreated, it can cause a host of other problems including the possibility of developing esophageal cancer.

For years, doctors have been performing endoscopies to help understand problems with the esophagus, and it is a procedure that many hate to endure. Endoscopies involve feeding a tube with a camera on the end of it down the patient's throat to be able to see exactly what is going on in their digestive tract.

The process can be painful, the patient needs to be sedated for the procedure to be performed, and generally, an endoscopy trip means that you will have to take time off work. To that end, an innovation in science may become the standard for diagnosing acid reflux in the future.

Known as the Pill Cam Eso (with Eso standing for Esophagus), this innovation consists of a plastic 'pill' that is roughly the size of a peanut. To understand exactly what is going on in a patient's digestive tract, they merely need to lay on their right side and swallow the pill, being sure to drink a sip of water roughly every 15 seconds.

The Pill Cam travels down the esophagus, taking fourteen pictures per second so that doctors can have a look inside your throat without having to use an invasive tube. It only takes 5 minutes for the procedure to be performed, and the data from the Pill Cam is downloaded to a computer so that the doctor can analyze the data. The images produced by the Pill Cam are of the same type of quality that one could expect from an endoscopy, but the process is much quicker and more comfortable.

The only problem associated with the Pill Cam Eso is a mild stomach irritation caused by the body's inability to digest the device. Within 48 hours, the patient's body will naturally pass the Pill Cam and the procedure will be fully completed. The pill cam can be useful when it comes to helping people with a diagnosed case of acid reflux to discover if they may have any pre-cancerous lesions present in their esophagus.

However, some acid reflux sufferers need to take note: the Pill Cam Eso is not for everybody. Patients that have trouble with getting food caught in their esophagus should not take the Pill Cam Eso for obvious reasons.

If you suffer from heartburn and believe that you may have acid reflux, it is important to speak to a qualified health care professional about the problem. While minor cases of acid reflux may not be worrisome, it is important to get a proper diagnosis for your problem.

Those afflicted with a major case of acid reflux need to insure that they get their esophagus checked regularly to ensure that there are no lesions present that may be a precursor to cancer. Esophageal cancer is a particularly deadly form of cancer that must be detected early in order to be stopped.

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