Alcohol Breath Tests and Gastroesophageal Reflux
Alcohol Breath Tests and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
January 27, 2010
An alcohol breath test can be thrown off by something called “GERD” – something you may be more familiar with as acid reflux or simple heart burn. Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a condition that affects people of all ages and physical body types. GERD is the clinical term for those who suffer heart burn more than twice a week. Heart burn occurs due to the opening of the pyloric sphincter that is located between the stomach and the esophagus that allows stomach acid and other enzymes to move in between the two during digestion. For those of us who suffer from GERD, the symptoms are unmistakable and are aptly named “heart burn”. This condition is widespread in our society due to fatty diets, smoking, consumption of alcohol or carbonated beverages, and various hereditary traits.
According to Dr. A.W. Jones, a leading scientist in alcohol breath testing, GERD may have a substantial impact on the accuracy of evidentiary breath tests, like the one given in Texas DWI cases, depending on the time of alcohol consumption in relation to the time of the breath test. Most people who suffer from GERD experience a painful sensation in the throat that is the result from the reflux of the stomach contents into the esophagus. Naturally, if the stomach contents contain alcohol, it stands to reason that it is possible for some of the alcohol to escape through the mouth during a breath test and falsely increase the alcohol breath test result. GERD is a critical consideration in alcohol breath test DWI cases also when considering that beer, white wine, and mixed drinks with carbonated beverages or fruit juice mixes have been consumed. These types of drinks not only contain alcohol, they also can intensify the occurrence of GERD in a person.
The critical question in this process is how long after drinking is the alcohol breath test provided? This is important because during the post absorption phase, most of the alcohol has left already left the stomach and moved along to the other stages of elimination and digestion. The closer in time between the breath test and consumption of alcohol, the greater the likelihood that GERD may produce a higher alcohol breath test reading than is accurate.
William Mitchell – DWI Defense Attorney
Tags: acid reflux, alcohol, alcohol breath, alcohol consumption, alcohol test, breath, breath test, breathalizer, breathalyzer, carbonated beverages, enzymes, gastroesophageal reflux disease, GERD, heart burn, hereditary traits, stomach acid
