Hard to swallow

About a third of the adult population of the UK experience heartburn at least once a month, and a smaller number on a weekly or daily basis.

Most people think of indigestion as being the same as heartburn, which is the commonest type of indigestion experienced by people of all ages. Heartburn is a descriptive term for a burning or sharp pain in the upper stomach or chest. It can be associated with various other symptoms such as: food and acid regurgitation, burping gas, nausea, food sticking in the gullet after swallowing, chest pains and coughing and wheezing. Heartburn and its associated symptoms is known medically as GORD (gastro-oesophageal reflux disease), and is due to stomach acid leaking back into the gullet (oesophagus). Heartburn symptoms are most common after eating, but can also be brought on by lying down or stooping.

Other types of indigestion are less common than heartburn, but can be due to a more serious problem, for instance waking at night with indigestion can be a symptom of a duodenal ulcer.

What can cause indigestion?

Recent research has shown that in a large proportion of cases the development of upper gastro-intestinal problems is associated with the presence in the stomach of a bacterium called helicobacter pylori. Depending on the age you are infected, and which part of the stomach is involved, helicobacter can cause increased or decreased amounts of acid production by the cells lining the stomach.

Acid overproduction is related to the development of gastritis and duodenal ulcers. Low acid secretion is associated with an increased risk of gastric ulcers and stomach cancer. Helicobacter can be eradicated by taking a course of antibiotics and acid suppressing medication for a week, prescribed by a doctor.

Lifestyle also plays a part in indigestion, since people on diets low in salt and high in antioxidants (found in fresh fruit and vegetables) are less at risk of developing gastric cancer, and smokers have a much higher risk of developing duodenal ulcers and gastric cancer.

You also risk developing major gastric problems if you are a long-term user of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), which are used for the treatment of many painful conditions and are available over the counter in the form of ibuprofen and aspirin. Elderly people are particularly at risk of NSAID-induced stomach irritation.