Heartburn - Symptoms
Last Updated on Monday, 19 October 2009 10:47
Heartburn Symptoms
Heartburn causes a characteristic burning pain in your chest. At times, this sensation may spread up into the throat, jaw, arms, or back. It typically occurs 30-60 minutes after meals. The condition worsens when you bend or lie down and is more frequent at night.
Regurgitation: Small amounts of stomach acid or food come up your oesophagus into the mouth causing a bitter or sour taste. Regurgitation may also affect your respiratory tract and cause asthma, chronic cough, damage of tooth enamel, hoarseness or sore throat.
You may also experience a lump in your throat.
Continuous acid exposure for long periods of time can damage the oesophagus. You may then have difficulty in swallowing.
Although rare, there may be a tear or bleeding of the oesophagus that may cause you to vomit blood or pass small amounts of blood in your stool.
Weight loss and dehydration are symptoms of extreme cases of heartburn.
