What Does Heartburn Feel Like And How To Control It

Heartburn is a condition where an individual feel discomfort or usually pain when stomach acids reach the esophagus and damages it. This is because the lower esophageal sphincter does not close so well or relaxes allowing the stomach acids to rise to the esophagus. Some people have no idea what does heartburn feel like and may think they are having a heart attack.

What does heartburn feel like is a common question that some people ask. They want to know to be able to fully understand and diagnose their symptoms. It is good to ask what does heartburn feel like to be able to have an idea of the scope or intensity of the pain but leave it up to the doctors to diagnose whether you do have heartburn or not. Self medication is not a good practice because you might be mistaken in self diagnosis.

What Does Heartburn Feel Like

So, what does heartburn feel like? Heartburn is a pain that usually starts behind the breast bone and can even reach up to a person’s jaw. The pain is sometimes acute and may panic a person into thinking that he is experiencing a heart attack. It is also a feeling of pain or pressure behind the sternum that sometimes occurs after eating a big meal.

What does heartburn feel like can also be a slight chest pain due to bending or a change in position or lying down after eating. It could also be a hot acidic burp that stays at the back of the throat and might sometimes be accompanied by a sour tasting, bitter fluid. You might also experience feeling like there is food left at the esophagus or in the middle of your chest.

How to Control Heartburn

What does heartburn feel like has already been answered in the above paragraph, now we will explore how to control it. Heartburn is usually caused by certain foods, some of which may contain acids. If you regularly experience heartburn, try to minimize your intake of the foods that you think are the culprits in heartburn

After eating you might also want to stay upright or in a seated position to minimize moving your stomach and allowing the acids to escape due to an overfull stomach. Lying down or bending over after a full meal can induce heartburn. Taking and antacid when you start to feel heartburn symptoms may aid in controlling it.