Sometimes people with indigestion also experience heartburn. Heartburn is a pain or burning feeling in the center of your chest that may radiate into your neck or back during or after eating. Mild indigestion is usually nothing to worry about.
Consult your doctor if discomfort persists for more than two weeks. Indigestion has many possible causes. Often, indigestion is related to lifestyle and may be triggered by food, drink or medication.
Common causes of indigestion include:. A condition known as functional or nonulcer dyspepsia, which is related to irritable bowel syndrome, is a very common cause of indigestion.
Although indigestion doesn't usually have serious complications, it can affect your quality of life by making you feel uncomfortable and causing you to eat less. You might miss work or school because of your symptoms. Indigestion care at Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Antacid overuse may also cause hypercalcemia , or too much calcium in your blood, which can affect many organ systems. In addition, magnesium or aluminum buildup can potentially be a concern for those with kidney disease.
Eating smaller portions and trying to stay in an upright position after meals may help. Try to avoid high fat foods, spicy foods, and certain fruits, vegetables, and beverages if they trigger symptoms. If this happens, talk with your doctor. They may be able to recommend alternative medications or strategies to help manage your symptoms.
GERD symptoms, such as coughing, nausea, and hoarseness, are affected by what you eat. The terms heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD are often used interchangeably. They actually have very different meanings. Are you searching for a natural way to treat your acid reflux? Apple cider vinegar may help. The acetic acid in apple cider vinegar is effective…. Gastroesophageal reflux disease GERD is a chronic condition that can make it difficult to sleep well.
Learn some tips to help you sleep better. Do you deal with heartburn more than twice a week? While many foods can make your heartburn worse, there are several foods that may help relieve symptoms. Many foods can cause heartburn by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter, a ring-like muscle that acts as a barrier between the esophagus and stomach. If you experience heartburn frequently, try removing some of the foods in this list from your diet to see if your symptoms improve. You can also try adding foods to your diet that help relieve heartburn, such as bananas, melons, oatmeal, grains, potatoes, ginger and green veggies.
Heartburn is often treated with medication, but simple dietary and lifestyle changes can help, too. Here are 14 home remedies for heartburn and acid….
The terms heartburn, acid reflux, and GERD are often used interchangeably. They actually have very different meanings. Heartburn is a burning sensation in your chest that often occurs with a bitter taste in your throat or mouth. The symptoms of heartburn may get worse…. Are you tired of using over-the-counter medications to treat your heartburn? Essential oils may be the alternative treatment you're looking for.
If you have acid reflux, you know that certain foods can make your symptoms worse. There is concern that coffee and tea can cause heartburn and aggravate acid reflux. Learn more about the effects of these favorite beverages on GERD…. Acid reflux happens when stomach acid backs up into your esophagus. Learn how to prevent and treat it with lifestyle changes, medications, or surgery…. Learn more about acid reflux, a condition that occurs when stomach acids back up into the esophagus through the lower esophageal sphincter.
Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. It is best described as a painful, burning sensation that occurs in the lower chest area.
Here are 11 foods that can cause heartburn. Share on Pinterest. High-Fat Foods. There are two ways that high-fat foods can trigger heartburn. Summary Foods that are high in fat may cause heartburn by relaxing the lower esophageal sphincter. Fat also promotes the release of CCK, which may relax the sphincter and let food sit in the stomach for longer — both risk factors for heartburn.
One study found that high doses of spearmint were linked with acid reflux symptoms. Summary Mints like peppermint and spearmint may cause heartburn. If you experience heartburn after consuming mint, it is best to avoid it. Citrus Juices. Drinking citrus juices may trigger heartburn symptoms.
Summary Citrus juices like orange or grapefruit juice may cause acid reflux and heartburn. Chocolate is another common trigger for heartburn. It's normal for your stomach to produce acid, but sometimes this acid can irritate the lining of your stomach, the top part of your bowel duodenum or your gullet oesophagus. This irritation can be painful and often causes a burning sensation.
Indigestion may also be due to the lining of your digestive system being overly sensitive to acid, or the "stretching" caused by eating.
Indigestion can also be triggered or made worse by other factors. Some of these are explained below. You may have indigestion if you take certain types of medication. Some medicines, such as nitrates taken to widen your blood vessels relax the oesophageal sphincter ring of muscle between your oesophagus and your stomach , which allows acid to leak back up. Other medicines, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs NSAIDs , can affect your digestive tract and cause indigestion.
Do not take NSAIDs, such as aspirin and ibuprofen, if you have stomach problems, such as a stomach ulcer , or have had this in the past. Children under 16 years of age should not take aspirin.
Never stop taking a prescribed medication unless you are told to do so by your GP or another qualified healthcare professional who is responsible for your care. If you are very overweight, you are more likely to experience indigestion because of increased pressure inside your stomach abdomen.
The increased pressure, particularly after a large meal, may lead to acid reflux into the oesophagus. If you regularly experience feelings of stress or anxiety, this can contribute to symptoms of indigestion.
A hernia occurs when an internal part of the body, such as an organ, pushes through a weakness in the surrounding muscle or tissue wall. A hiatus hernia occurs when part of your stomach pushes up into your diaphragm the sheet of muscle under your lungs.
It may partially block refluxed stomach acid clearing from your oesophagus, leading to heartburn. Helicobacter infection is very common. It may lead to stomach ulcers or, rarely, stomach cancer. In most cases, however, it does not cause any symptoms at all. Some people may get bouts of indigestion from helicobacter infection and, in these cases, getting rid of the bug with antibiotics eradication will help. However, many cases of indigestion are not caused by helicobacter, and in these cases eradication will not get rid of symptoms.
Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease GORD is a common condition and one of the main causes of recurring indigestion. It's caused by acid reflux, which occurs when the oesophageal sphincter fails to prevent stomach acid from moving back up into your oesophagus. A little bit of acid reflux is normal and rarely cause any symptoms.
It becomes GORD when large amounts of reflux occur, and the sensitive lining of your oesophagus may get inflamed by repeated irritation from stomach acid. This can lead to heartburn, the sensation of regurgitation or painful swallowing. A stomach ulcer is an open sore that develops on the inside lining of your stomach a gastric ulcer or small intestine a duodenal ulcer.
If you have a stomach ulcer, you may have indigestion as a symptom. Stomach ulcers form when stomach acid damages the lining in your stomach or duodenum wall. In most cases, the lining is damaged as a result of an H pylori infection see above. In rare cases, recurring bouts of indigestion can be a symptom of stomach cancer. Cancer cells in your stomach break down the protective lining, allowing acid to come into contact with your stomach wall.
For most people, indigestion dyspepsia is mild and infrequent, and does not require treatment from a healthcare professional. However, if you have indigestion regularly, or if it causes you severe pain or discomfort, see your pharmacist.
Depending on the type of indigestion symptoms you have, your pharmacist may recommend you see your GP to investigate your condition further. This is because indigestion can sometimes be a symptom of an underlying condition or health problem, such as a Helicobacter pylori H pylori bacterial infection. An endoscopy is a procedure used to examine the inside of your body using an endoscope — a thin, flexible tube, about the width of your little finger, with a light and a camera on one end.
The camera is used to relay images of the inside of your body to a TV monitor. An endoscopy is not often needed to diagnose indigestion, but your GP may suggest that you have one if:. Taking certain medicines for indigestion can hide some of the problems that could otherwise be spotted during an endoscopy. Therefore, for at least two weeks before your endoscopy, you will need to stop taking proton pump inhibitors PPIs and H2-receptor antagonists.
Read more about treatments for indigestion. Your GP may also recommend changing other medications that may be causing your indigestion. However, only stop taking medication if you are advised to do so by your GP or another healthcare professional responsible for your care. If your GP thinks that your symptoms may be due to an infection with H pylori bacteria, you may need to have a test for it, such as:.
Antibiotics and PPIs can affect the results of a urea breath test or a stool antigen test. Therefore, these tests may need to be delayed until two weeks after you last used a PPI, and four weeks after you last used an antibiotic. If your GP thinks that your indigestion symptoms may be caused by another underlying medical condition, you may need to have some further tests to rule this out.
For example, abdominal pain and discomfort can also be caused by conditions affecting the bile ducts in your liver. Your bile ducts are a series of tubes that carry bile fluid used by the digestive system to break down fats from the liver to the gallbladder a pouch that holds bile and the bowel. If your GP thinks that you may have such a condition, they may suggest you have a liver function test, which is a type of blood test used to assess how well your liver is working.
You may also need to have an abdominal ultrasound. An ultrasound scan uses high-frequency sound waves to create an image of the inside of your body. Treatment for indigestion dyspepsia will vary, depending on what is causing it and how severe your symptoms are.
If you have been diagnosed with an underlying health condition, you may want to read our information on:. If you only have indigestion occasionally, you may not need to see your pharmacist or GP for treatment.
0コメント