Heartburn! The mere sound of the name conjures up visions and feelings of stomachs on fire. I am sure many of us have experienced that slow irritating and agonizing burn in the pits of our stomachs; an unpleasant aftermath of a scrumptious meal. While not everyone will experience heartburn after a meal, many are tasked with performing, on a daily basis, a balancing act to avoid irritating their esophagus. While medication can play a crucial role, the patient still had to be cognizant of the presence of heartburn, the common irritants of heartburn and be resolute in maintaining a lifestyle conducive to minimizing this irritant.

A burning sensation in the area just below or behind the breastbone, is how heartburn manifests itself. This sensation is emanating from your esophagus , rising in the chest and can be felt in your neck and throat. Not a pleasant sensation. Our cries for help are acknowledged by numerous manufacturers who provide us with an array of medicinal products to relief our burning stomachs. Treatments can range from over the counter medications like antacids, to prescription medication for more chronic heartburn.

Heartburn is in itself, a symptom of a digestive disorder. It is usually a symptom of gastro esophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, there are symptoms of heartburn itself. In order to determine if you have GERD, a doctor's diagnosis will be required. Some of the more common symptoms of heartburn are as follows:

1) Asthma like symptoms: When stomach acid reaches the airways and lungs as a result of GERD, you can find yourself wheezing , coughing and generally have difficulty breathing.

2) Problems swallowing: After eating, you may feel as though you are chocking or as if there is something stuck in your throat, along with a heavy feeling in your chest area. This could occur as a result of the food not passing as it should through the esophagus and onto the stomach.

3) Bitter or sour taste: It does leave a bad taste in one's mouth as some of us can probable relate to. This occurs when the reflux action brings the food to the back of the throat. There is nothing worse than sampling an acidified version of the pasta you just ate.

4) Burning in the chest and throat: This can come on very soon after eating. the burning sensation in the chest can be felt behind the breast bone and in the throat. In the throat, a burning sensation can be felt high in the neck and it can be made worse by swallowing

As you can see many of these

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