Indigestion Chest Pain Is One Of The Symptoms
Indigestion chest pain is one of the more common symptoms complained about by individuals who suffer from indigestion since many of the causes of indigestion reside in the upper stomach area and esophagus. There are different areas that can be affected when indigestion hits, such as the stomach, chest and indigestion back pain. Each of these areas is affected by different causes of indigestion and should be discussed with the family doctor so that any more serious issues can be immediately addressed so as not to cause additional health problems by allowing the issue to remain.
Causes of Indigestion Chest Pain
There are different causes that might have the symptom of indigestion chest pain, such as peptic ulcers. Some peptic ulcers will reside in the upper stomach area and also in the esophagus, which will cause indigestion chest pain. These ulcers are open sores that develop for a couple of different reasons. One cause can be because of high use of pain medication such as aspirin or ibuprofen products which can be hard on the lining of the esophagus and the stomach. Another cause is bacteria, the Helicobacter pylori. Either cause must be treated with a change in diet or medication usage and also the symptoms treated so that the ulcer does not worsen.
Another cause of indigestion chest pain that is most common is heartburn. Heartburn is usually caused when the acid of the stomach comes back up into the esophagus, causing the discomfort and pain. This can be caused by eating too large of a meal, eating too many acidic foods at a time, or from a valve condition where it does not shut all the way in the esophagus and allows the acid from the stomach to come back into the throat, causing discomfort and often nausea. There are certain foods that cause heartburn
Gastritis is another cause of indigestion chest pain in some individuals. Gastritis is the inflammation of the stomach lining, which can be caused by pain relief medication usage or the bacteria that causes the peptic ulcers. Gastritis can also be caused by drinking too much alcohol. The indigestion chest pain that is caused by gastritis is usually more of a burning pain as opposed to a sharper pain in the chest area. Again, gastritis can often be solved by a change in eating and drinking patterns, as well as limiting the intake of pain relief medications. Sometimes this is not enough to solve the issue and more serious medications must be taken to help with the symptoms.
Typical Causes of Indigestion Stomach Pain
Indigestion typically causes abdominal pain in most individuals, in some cases the pain is worse than others, depending on the cause behind the pain. Often the solution for the indigestion stomach pain is to change the individual’s diet, so that the meals are smaller or the amount of acidic foods eaten each day is reduced.
In other cases, drinking alcohol may be the issue behind the indigestion stomach pain and the individual must get help to stop the drinking. Sometimes the cause behind the pain can be taking too much pain relief medication which is very hard on the lining of the stomach, such as aspirin or ibuprofen. In those cases the pain relief medication must be changed to something that is less wearing on the stomach.
Changing Habits
As mentioned above, if the indigestion stomach pain is caused by heartburn, then there are several solutions to the problem. One solution is to eat smaller meals, which means that the individual will eat more meals during the course of the day, but each meal will be a small portion of food so that the stomach never gets over filled. In addition, the types of foods that are eaten should be monitored so that spicy foods are not eaten, at least not regularly, in addition to high fat foods, which can cause the indigestion. In some people, caffeine and carbonated beverages can also exacerbate the problem, as well as alcohol, which was mentioned above.
In addition to changing the diet, a healthy exercise plan should be implemented to help to reduce indigestion stomach pain. There is a two-fold reason for this. First, it helps the individual to get down to or to maintain a healthy weight. When there is too much fat on the body, it pushes on the stomach area and causes the acid in the stomach to come up the esophagus after eating. In addition to maintaining a healthy weight, exercising also helps to reduce stress for individuals, which can also be the cause of indigestion. As with any change to a person’s lifestyle, exercise and diet plans should be thoroughly discussed with the person’s physician to make sure there are not any more serious issues to deal with and to ensure that the diet and exercise plan fits that person’s needs.
If these changes do not help to fix the indigestion stomach pain, then the doctor should be consulted again to check for some more serious issues such as gallstones, peptic ulcers or stomach cancer.
