Help! What is this stinging and heavy feeling on my chest midway through dinner?!

No need to panic. That’s called heartburn or acid reflux. It happens when you eat a meal high in grease and acids, or when you eat too much and too fast. And a mild attack of it can be solved in seconds. Anyway, let’s be careful when it strikes since a bout of heartburn mimics the start of a heart disease, such as difficulty in breathing and a crushing sensation in the chest.

The pain you felt is caused by the rare event of acids rushing out of the stomach and leaking into the esophagus. Overeating can also bring about the problem. And by the way, don’t lie down when you have it because it will only induce your stomach to expel more acid.

So what are the cures for acid reflux and heartburn? If your heartburn encounters are less than once a week, then an antacid will usually do the trick. What antacids do is to even out the amount of acids to non-acids in the stomach, and give a quick although not long-lasting relief from heartburn. Antacids that have calcium carbonate—chalk—have been around for years, but now newer varieties that use aluminum hydroxide are just as popular. Or how about a longer lasting heartburn medication like Zantac or Pepcid AC?

Nevertheless, if you have heartburn more often than usual, you may need to consult a doctor about it. Your stomach acids can over time inflict wounds at your esophagus’ lining, which will heighten the chances of a serious complication. Nevertheless, curing even the worst and persistent cases of heartburn is not that hard. Acid reflux treatment or heartburn treatment in the form of a few prescriptions today are very effective in ridding yourself of chronic heartburn. Or how about some smart material on heartburn treatment before you give way to a medical procedure (read: surgery!)?