• Question: if its true that are stomach acid is ph2, why doesnt it burn our throats when we are sick?

    Asked by meganolley to Ben, Jony, Mark on 25 Nov 2011. This question was also asked by lararoots.
    • Photo: Mark Basham

      Mark Basham answered on 24 Nov 2011:

      Hi meganolley,

      It does burn the throat a bit, its just that the throat is used to this kind of thing, and the acid is diluted with food and other stuff you have eaten.drunk. But if you are really ill and being sick without much in your stomach it can burn you really badly.

    • Photo: Jony Hudson

      Jony Hudson answered on 25 Nov 2011:

      The stomach produces mucus, basically snot, which lines it and protects the wall from damage from the acid. The throat doesn’t have this so much, so it is possible for stomach acid to damage it. Some people suffer from a condition called acid reflux where the acid leaks out from their stomach and damages the throat over a long period of time.

      An amazing thing about stomach acid is the H. Pylori bacteria. It’s evolved so that it can live in the stomach acid, and lots of people have it living in their stomach. It can damage the wall of the stomach and cause stomach ulcers.

      Doctors only figured this out recently. In the old days if you had a stomach ulcer you’d have to go for an operation (I remember my grandad having to go), but now they can just give you drugs to kill the bacteria and usually that makes it better. It was an amazing science discovery to find the link between the bacteria and the ulcers, and make so many people’s lives better by reducing the need for operations.

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