Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 1, 2025

Simultaneous Laryngopharyngeal and Conventional Esophageal pH Monitoring
Published on: December 14, 2020
A New Risk of Using Alkaline Drops in Patients With Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
Tyler Pion1, Ghiath Alnouri2, Robert T Sataloff3
1Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Abstract:
Laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR) is common in the otolaryngologist's office, and a multimodal treatment regimen is employed often. Counseling patients on lifestyle modifications is important. Alkaline water consumption has been recommended as a nonmedical "antacid" for its value in deactivating pepsin, a proteolytic enzyme responsible for laryngeal tissue inflammatory changes in LPR. Alkaline water can be found as premade bottled water, or it can be made at home by titrating regular-pH water with concentrated alkaline drops. We present a patient who mistakenly instilled the alkaline drops into her eye, causing alkali-related chemical burns to the sclera and cornea, which subsequently resulted in scar.
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