What Does Heartburn Feel Like
What does heartburn feel like? To some of you who have experienced heartburns already, you know how a heartburn feels like and how it can affect your daily living. Heartburn is a burning sensation you feel in your chest. The feeling may sometimes spread to your throat and even reach your mouth with a sour taste. Heartburns can sometimes be so severe that you have to lie down or bend over for a few seconds or minutes until the burning sensation has passed. Experiencing heartburns once in a while is normal but if you are having heartburns frequently, you may have an underlying condition that needs to be treated immediately.
What does heartburn feel like? Some people complain of tightness in the chest and a lump in the throat then a burning sensation passing through from the stomach up to the esophagus and sometimes reaching the throat and mouth. All these sensations can be symptoms of a condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or what most people know as acid reflux disease.
Acid reflux disease is a condition where your esophageal sphincters become weak, letting gastric bile flow back into your esophagus. Gastric bile is very acidic. When stomach contents flow back up to your esophagus, your esophageal lining will be damaged and you will feel a burning sensation.
Symptoms
What does heartburn feel like? Here are some symptoms you will feel when you have an acid reflux disease
A burning sensation in your chest going to your esophagus may also be accompanied by nausea and vomiting. Because of the acid, you may also have difficulty swallowing due to the damage that is already present in your esophagus. If you don’t treat your condition, you may eventually experience sore throat and hoarseness of voice as a result of chronic damage to your esophageal lining.
Remedies
You can manage heartburns by taking medications. Contacting your health care provider before taking any medication is always a good idea. Some medicines you can take are antacids like Tums and Maalox; H2 receptor blockers like Pepcid and Zantac; Proton Pump Inhibitors like Prevacid and Prilosec.
Avoiding food triggers would also help reduce the frequency of heartburns. Spicy and fatty foods are common triggers of heartburns. What does heartburn feel like? It feels like an irritation in your throat that you want to cough out but can’t. By managing your symptoms, you won’t have to live with heartburns anymore.