How Long Does Heartburn Last
January 31st 2010 -
What does heartburn feel like? Heartburn can be mild or in some cases can cause severe discomfort, this is due to the burning sensation behind the breastbone (sternum). If you’re experiencing heartburn, particularly if you’ve never had it before, you may be wondering, how long does heartburn last?
Unfortunately, there is no given time frame for heartburn. Each episode may last for only a few minutes, but for others, it can cause major problems which can last for months or sometimes, years. Each episode can last from several minutes to several days, in severe cases. A more serious condition, such as gastro esophageal reflux diesease (GERD) can be diagnosed if heartburn occurs frequently.
How long does heartburn last; this depends on a number of factors. A primary indicator of how long your symptoms may last are down to the underlying cause of the heartburn. If the lower esophageal sphincter is not working properly, you may have what’s known as GERD; in this instance symptoms may last longer as this allows the acid from the stomach to work it’s way up into your esophagus.Added pressure on the stomach for e.g. through obesity or pregnancy will cause heartburn for a longer period.
If your heartburn is a matter of eating spicy foods, it’s not likely to last as long as heartburn caused by other underlying conditions. It has been known for minor lingering pain to continue for a day or two after a heartburn episode but a time span of several hours is usually sufficient to elimate heartburn that has been caused by food. Once your body has the opportunity to fully digest the offending foods, heartburn should usually cease soon after.
Until the cause is identified and treated, there are many of you who will experience frequent attacks. For others, it will simply come and go. Some foods can actually cause heartburn for people who have a sensitive digestive system. The way around this is to determine which foods you are sensitive too and eliminate them.
Certain foods are more likely to contribute to heartburn. Common culprits can be spicy, hot, saucy foods or even chocolate. Start by keeping track of the foods you’ve eaten recently prior to each attack and begin eliminating them one by one. Alcohol and caffeine can also contribute to heartburn, as well as certain medications, so keep tabs on everything you ingest prior to heartburn attacks.
If your heartburn does not respond to antacids and lasts longer than a few days, you should get a check up from your doctor. It has been known, in some instances to mistake a heart attack for heartburn. If you’re at risk of heart conditions, learn to differentiate heartburn and angina symptoms so you can seek proper medical attention if you experience angina.
Heartburn - how long does it last? Is a frequent question by many sufferers?Unfortunately, this question cannot be answered easily. Different remedies will work differently on each individual as we all respond differently. This is also the case for the time length of the episode as we all act differently. Natural remedies to reduce not only how many episodes you experience but the severity of heartburn can be found on the market today.