Food regurgitation

Food regurgitation describes the sensation of food that has been previously eaten and swallowed coming back into the mouth. This happens most commonly in the setting of gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, where the food often tastes slightly acidic or bitter as a result of being mixed with gastric juices. Food regurgitation may also arise in the setting of patients with dysphagia, when food may get stuck in the lower oesophagus (gullet or swallowing tube) and then be brought back up to the mouth because they wont go down into the stomach. This may arise as a result of an oesophageal stricture or disease such as achalasia. Rarely the regurgitation of food that “tastes exactly the same as when it went down” may reflect rumination syndrome.