However, heartburn has nothing to do with your heart despite its name. When acid from your stomach rises into your oesophagus, the 10-inch tube that leads from your mouth to your stomach, you'll feel a burning feeling in your chest.

When heartburn strikes, it can linger anywhere from a few minutes to many hours. It's unpleasant either way, so understandably, you'd want to find a quick solution.

What Causes Heartburn, And How Does It Feel?

The American Gastroenterological Association states that digestion of food requires stomach acid, which your stomach can produce with no problem. However, it irritates your oesophagus. A circular ring of muscle at the tube's base, the lower oesophagal sphincter, works as a valve to keep stomach acid in the stomach and out of the oesophagus.

When this valve is opened, swallowed food can go down into the stomach. The contraction of this valve prevents the reflux of food and stomach acid into the oesophagus.

Top Home Treatments for Heartburn

Here are some strategies to alleviate — and perhaps prevent — your symptoms of acid reflux and heartburn:

Consume A Ripe Banana

As a result of their high potassium content, bananas are considered an alkaline food. And the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests this may be helpful since it may reduce the acidity of your stomach, which is irritating your oesophagus.

However, the starch and low alkalinity of unripe bananas may make them a problem for those prone to acid reflux. A ripe banana is the best kind to use.

Chew Sugar-Free Gum

Saliva production is boosted by chewing gum. One research found that this helped minimize heartburn by neutralizing stomach acid that had refluxed into the oesophagus and encouraging swallowing, both of which assist in keeping acid down.

Track Meals And Prevent Triggers

Some meals and beverages have been identified as possible acid reflux and heartburn catalysts. Keeping a food and symptom record might help determine which foods are causing your reactions. Once you know what they are, you should try to stay away from them.

Eat On Time, Before Bed, Or Before Exercise

Laying down after eating might cause acid reflux and worsen heartburn symptoms. The best time to sleep on an empty stomach is three hours after your last meal. You should wait at least two hours before engaging in physical activity. 1

Sleep Comfortably

Sleeping with a slight elevation of the head and chest over the feet helps alleviate acid reflux and heartburn. Either put a foam wedge under your mattress or use wood blocks to elevate your bedposts to achieve this. Avoid stacking pillows since this often isn't helpful and might instead exacerbate your condition.

Lose Weight If You're Obese

When you're overweight, your stomach has to work harder, which can lead to acid reflux and heartburn. Eating a balanced diet and exercising for at least 150 minutes per week are the initial steps in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight and reducing excess weight.

Quit Smoking

If you smoke, you may experience more frequent episodes of heartburn because you are producing less saliva and the valve that prevents stomach acid from entering the esophagus is less efficient. When you quit smoking, you may find that your acid reflux symptoms diminish or go away altogether.

Decrease Anxiety

Constant mental and emotional strain causes physiological changes that can be felt in the form of slowed digestion and increased sensitivity to pain. A higher incidence of acid reflux develops when food remains in the stomach for an extended period. A higher pain threshold might also heighten your awareness of the sting of heartburn.

Tips For Dealing With Persistent Heartburn

Mild, infrequent heartburn may usually be treated with over-the-counter drugs such as antacids and histamine blockers. Before using an antacid or histamine blocker, it is important to read the label to ensure the medication will work for you.

Regular use of heartburn medicines is not recommended unless prescribed by your doctor because these treatments can interact with many other medications and alter underlying health concerns.

Always see a doctor if your heartburn is severe or if it returns after you've tried over-the-counter remedies. Heartburn is a common medical complaint but can also be a symptom of something more serious, like GERD or a drug's negative effect.