Medical Disclaimer
Effective date: May 25, 2026
Refluxora provides educational information only. The App is not a medical device, is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or condition, and does not establish a doctor-patient relationship.
1. Educational Purpose
Refluxora is a Health & Fitness wellness companion for adults living with, or concerned about, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), laryngopharyngeal reflux / silent reflux (LPR), pregnancy-related heartburn, polypharmacy-aware reflux management, and PPI taper journeys. The App:
- Lets you log and chart your own reflux symptoms, RSI (Reflux Symptom Index) trend, Voquezna or PPI efficacy, Tums dosage versus daily ceiling, and taper-week adherence over time
- Generates an educational reflux-trigger rating for a meal you photograph (Meal Scan) on a simple safe / watch / alert scale
- Ranks restaurant menu dishes per cohort from a menu photograph (Menu Pre-Scan) — top picks / worth-it / skip — before you order
- Provides an AI Reflux Coach grounded in published guidelines (American College of Gastroenterology — ACG 2022 GERD; American Gastroenterological Association — AGA 2024 Best Practice; American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery — AAO-HNS LPR position paper; Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic patient material; Dr. Jamie Koufman and Dr. Jonathan Aviv Acid Watcher protocols; the Voquezna / vonoprazan FDA label; ACOG pregnancy reflux guidance; IFFGD lifestyle material; AGS Beers Criteria for senior polypharmacy; and selected PubMed extracts)
- Offers personal logs for medications (PPIs, H2 blockers, Voquezna, antacids, alginate), supplements (DGL, zinc-carnosine, mastic gum, melatonin), and protocol adherence that you choose to track on your own initiative or with your clinician
- Exports a doctor-shareable PDF of your trend data on request, formatted for your GI, ENT, OB-GYN, or primary-care visit
None of this constitutes medical advice.
2. Not a Diagnosis
Symptom logs, RSI scores, meal trigger ratings, menu pre-scan rankings, dish pH scores, drug-interaction flags, taper-week progress, and AI Coach responses are educational explanations and self-reported tracking, not clinical assessments. Refluxora cannot tell you whether you have GERD, LPR, Barrett's esophagus, esophagitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, hiatal hernia, or any other esophageal or laryngeal condition. A symptom pattern or RSI value above a published threshold means "discuss this with your doctor or ENT" — it is not a diagnosis. Only a qualified healthcare provider can diagnose a reflux-related condition, using your full clinical picture (history, endoscopy where indicated, pH monitoring, imaging, and other tests).
3. RSI Is a Screening Tool, Not a Diagnosis
The Reflux Symptom Index (RSI) was developed by Belafsky, Postma and Koufman (2002) as a validated, self-administered 9-item screening questionnaire for laryngopharyngeal reflux. In Refluxora:
- RSI is a self-logged screening tool, shown for education and trend-watching only
- A total score of 13 or above has been associated in the literature with increased likelihood of LPR — but the score alone does not confirm or exclude LPR
- RSI does not diagnose LPR, Barrett's esophagus, or any condition; it does not stage disease; and it is not a substitute for ENT evaluation, laryngoscopy, or 24-hour pH/impedance monitoring
- Interpretation of an RSI score must be done by your doctor or otolaryngologist (ENT), who will consider voice symptoms, laryngeal examination, dietary history, and other tests
4. Medication and Drug Information
References inside the App to medications — including proton-pump inhibitors (omeprazole, esomeprazole, lansoprazole, pantoprazole, rabeprazole, dexlansoprazole), H2 blockers (famotidine, cimetidine, nizatidine), the potassium-competitive acid blocker vonoprazan (brand Voquezna), antacids (Tums / calcium carbonate, Maalox, Mylanta), alginate (Gaviscon), and supplements (DGL, zinc-carnosine, mastic gum, alginate, melatonin) — are educational and based on published guideline summaries, peer-reviewed literature, and approved labeling. Refluxora does not prescribe, supply, recommend, or modify any medication, dose, frequency, or duration. Never start, stop, or change a prescribed medication based on anything in the App. Medication decisions belong to you and your prescriber.
In particular:
- Voquezna (vonoprazan) efficacy tracking is for personal trend awareness only; the App does not adjust doses or recommend continuation/discontinuation
- PPI taper protocols shown by the App are general educational frameworks. Tapering a PPI may cause rebound acid hypersecretion. Any taper plan must be discussed with your prescriber
- Pregnancy medications — references to FDA category labels (former Category A / B / C / D / X) and the current PLLR (Pregnancy and Lactation Labeling Rule) are reference summaries from ACOG and the prescribing information. No medication should be taken during pregnancy without your OB-GYN's specific advice
- Drug-interaction flags (for example grapefruit with calcium-channel blockers, caffeine with stimulants, polypharmacy interactions for the Senior Sam cohort) are educational and based on published references including AGS Beers Criteria. Always confirm interactions with your pharmacist
5. Diet, Lifestyle and Menu Pre-Scan
The Meal Scan's reflux-trigger rating, the Menu Pre-Scan's dish ranking, the Acid Watcher diet phases, the Mediterranean dietary references, and the App's other dietary and lifestyle information are general education drawn from published guidance (ACG 2022 lifestyle pillars; Dr. Aviv Acid Watcher Diet and Acid Watcher Cookbook; IFFGD diet material). They are not a personalized meal plan or clinical nutrition therapy. Nutritional needs vary; consult your doctor or a registered dietitian for individual advice. Dish pH scores presented in Menu Pre-Scan are estimates based on published food-acidity tables and may differ from the dish as actually prepared at a given restaurant.
6. Photographs Are Not Medical Imaging
Meal photos and menu photos are ordinary smartphone images. A meal photo is used only to produce an educational food rating. A menu photo is used only to extract dish names via OCR and to rank them. Neither is clinical imaging, and the App cannot evaluate the esophagus, the throat, or any body tissue from a photograph.
7. AI Coach Responses
The AI Reflux Coach generates responses grounded in an on-device knowledge base of published guidelines and peer-reviewed literature, and each response includes a citation. However:
- Responses are generated by a large language model and may contain errors, omissions, or simplifications
- Responses are general educational information, not personalized medical advice
- The Coach is designed to decline diagnosis, medication-dosing, dosage modification, Barrett's-prediction, and emergency questions, and to redirect you to a clinician (GI, ENT, OB-GYN, or primary-care)
- The knowledge base is updated periodically but may not reflect the latest research at any given moment
- Always verify clinically important information with your doctor or a primary source
8. Pregnancy-Specific Notes (Patricia Cohort)
Refluxora's pregnancy-aware features — including Tums dosage tracking against a daily calcium ceiling, trimester-aware copy, and OB-aligned dish ranking — are reference tools, not pregnancy medical advice. Pregnancy reflux is common but can also be a symptom of more serious conditions including HELLP syndrome (in late pregnancy). Sudden, severe, or worsening upper-abdominal pain, especially with vision changes, severe headache, swelling, or right-upper-quadrant pain, requires immediate OB evaluation. Always consult your OB-GYN before changing reflux management during pregnancy, and follow their guidance over anything in the App.
9. LPR-Specific Notes (Larry Cohort) — ENT Red Flags
LPR symptoms overlap with conditions requiring urgent ENT evaluation. Seek prompt ENT or urgent-care assessment for:
- Progressive hoarseness lasting more than 3 weeks
- Difficulty swallowing solids (dysphagia)
- Pain on swallowing (odynophagia)
- Unintentional weight loss
- Painless neck mass
- Coughing or vomiting blood
- Smoking or heavy alcohol history with new throat symptoms
Refluxora's RSI screening is not designed to detect laryngeal cancer or other serious laryngeal conditions and must not delay ENT referral when these red flags are present.
10. GERD Red Flags — Emergency Signs
The App tracks chronic patterns, not acute emergencies. Seek urgent care or an emergency room if you experience any of the following:
- Chest pain — especially if pressure-like, radiating to arm/jaw/back, or associated with shortness of breath, sweating, or nausea (could be cardiac, not reflux)
- Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath with reflux symptoms
- Vomiting blood, or black, tarry stools (possible GI bleed)
- Difficulty or pain swallowing that came on suddenly
- Food impaction (food stuck in the throat or esophagus)
- Severe, sudden, or unrelenting upper-abdominal or chest pain
- Unintentional weight loss with reflux symptoms
If you are unsure, contact your local emergency services (US 911 / UK 999 or 111 / EU 112 / AU 000 / CA 911).
11. Mental Health and Distress
Chronic reflux can be emotionally heavy. If you are experiencing severe distress, hopelessness, or thoughts of self-harm, please contact a crisis line immediately:
- United States: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988)
- United Kingdom: Samaritans 116 123
- Germany: TelefonSeelsorge 0800 111 0 111
- Canada: Talk Suicide Canada 1-833-456-4566
- Australia: Lifeline 13 11 14
- International: findahelpline.com
12. Brand Names and Trademarks
References to brand-name drugs, devices, products, or services within the App or this disclaimer are for identification and education only. Refluxora is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or partnered with Phathom Pharmaceuticals (Voquezna / vonoprazan), AstraZeneca (Nexium), Procter & Gamble (Prilosec), Johnson & Johnson (Pepcid), Reckitt (Gaviscon), GSK, Dr. Jamie Koufman, Dr. Jonathan Aviv, the American College of Gastroenterology, the American Gastroenterological Association, the American Academy of Otolaryngology, ACOG, IFFGD, the Mayo Clinic, the Cleveland Clinic, any pharmaceutical or device manufacturer, or any clinic. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.
13. No Doctor-Patient Relationship
Use of Refluxora does not create a doctor-patient relationship between you and Valerii Loveiko or any third party. The developer is not a licensed medical professional and does not provide clinical care.
14. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the developer is not liable for any decision, action, omission, treatment outcome, side effect, financial loss, or other consequence resulting from reliance on the App's outputs. Use of the App is at your own discretion and risk.
15. Region-Specific Notes
- United States: Refluxora has not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any clinical claim. It is a general-wellness app, not Software as a Medical Device.
- European Union / EEA: Refluxora is not classified as a medical device under EU MDR. It is a general-wellness app in the Apple App Store Health & Fitness category.
- Germany: Refluxora is not a Digitale Gesundheitsanwendung (DiGA) and is not approved under §33a SGB V. For clinical guidance, consult your Hausarzt, a Facharzt für Gastroenterologie, or a Facharzt für HNO (ENT).
- United Kingdom: Refluxora is not registered with the MHRA as a medical device. NHS referral remains the recommended pathway for clinical evaluation of GERD or LPR.
- Australia / Canada: Refluxora is not registered with the TGA or Health Canada as a medical device.
16. Contact
Questions about this disclaimer: