Antacids or Something Stronger? Getting on Top of Heartburn.

• Antacids help neutralise the acid already in your stomach and can provide relatively quick, short-term relief from occasional heartburn or indigestion.
• Alginates form a protective layer on top of the stomach contents, helping reduce acid travelling back up towards the throat. They can be particularly useful when symptoms occur after eating or when lying down.
• PPIs (proton pump inhibitors), such as omeprazole, reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces. They are generally used when symptoms are more frequent or persistent and may take a few days to have their full effect.

If you only experience heartburn occasionally, an antacid or alginate may be enough to relieve your symptoms when they occur.

If your heartburn is happening regularly, particularly after meals or at night, speak to a clinician or pharmacist. They can help you decide which treatment is most appropriate and check whether anything else could be contributing to your symptoms.

If you have heartburn most days, or pharmacy treatments are not helping, speak to your GP. Regularly needing treatment for heartburn is worth investigating rather than continuing to manage the symptoms yourself.

Common triggers can include:

• Eating large meals or eating close to bedtime
• Lying down soon after eating
• Coffee, alcohol, chocolate, spicy or fatty foods
• Smoking
• Being overweight
• Stress or anxiety
• Certain medicines

Everyone’s triggers can be different. Keeping track of when your symptoms happen may help you identify what makes yours worse.

If you think one of your medicines could be contributing to your heartburn, speak to a clinician or pharmacist. Do not stop taking a prescribed medicine without medical advice.

Heartburn is usually manageable, but some symptoms should not be treated as ordinary indigestion.

Call 999 or go to A&E if you have chest pain or discomfort alongside symptoms such as shortness of breath, sweating, dizziness, or pain spreading to your arm, jaw, neck or back, as these can be symptoms of a heart attack.

You should also seek urgent medical advice if you vomit blood or have black, sticky or tar-like stools.

Speak to your GP if:

• You have heartburn most days
• Pharmacy treatments and lifestyle changes are not helping
• You have difficulty swallowing
• Food feels as though it is getting stuck
• You are frequently being sick
• You are losing weight without trying

If you’re unsure what to do, contact NHS 111 by calling 111 or using NHS 111 online.