128 Where There Is No Doctor 2011
Acid Indigestion, Heartburn, and Stomach Ulcers
Acid indigestion and ‘heartburn’ often come from eating too much heavy or greasy
food or from drinking too much alcohol or coffee. These make the stomach produce
extra acid, which causes discomfort or a ‘burning’ feeling in the stomach or mid chest.
Some people mistake the chest pain, called ‘heartburn’, for a heart problem rather than
indigestion. If the pain gets worse when lying down, it is probably heartburn.
Frequent or lasting acid indigestion is a warning sign of an ulcer.
An ulcer is a chronic sore in the digestive
system, usually caused by bacteria. Too much
acid in the stomach prevents it from healing.
It may cause a chronic, dull (sometimes sharp)
pain in the pit of the stomach. As with acid
indigestion, often the pain lessens when the
person eats food or drinks a lot of water. The
pain usually gets worse an hour or more after
eating, if the person misses a meal, or after
he drinks alcohol or eats fatty or spicy foods.
Pain is often worse at night. Without a special
examination (endoscopy) it is often hard to know
whether a person with frequent stomach pain
has an ulcer or not.
An ulcer is an
open sore in the
stomach or gut.
If the ulcer is severe, it can cause vomiting, sometimes with fresh blood, or with
digested blood that looks like coffee grounds. Stools with blood from an ulcer are
usually black, like tar.
WARNING: Some ulcers are painless or ‘silent’, and the first sign is blood in vomit, or
black, sticky stools. This is a medical emergency. The person can quickly bleed to
death. GET MEDICAL HELP FAST.
Prevention and Treatment:
Whether stomach or chest pain is caused by heartburn, acid indigestion, or an ulcer,
a few basic recommendations will probably help calm the pain and prevent it from
coming back.
♦ Do not eat too much. Eat small meals and eat frequent snacks between meals.
♦ Notice what foods or drinks make the pain worse and avoid them.
These usually include alcoholic drinks, coffee,
spices, pepper, carbonated drinks (soda, pop,
colas), and fatty or greasy foods.
♦ If the heartburn is worse at night when
lying flat, try sleeping with the upper body
somewhat raised.