Health Advice
- Weight Management
- Quit Smoking
- Acne
- Child Health
- Pain
- Oral Care & Hygiene
- Aneurysm, abdominal aortic
- Tummy ache
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- First aid
- Reflux
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- Acupuncture
- Gallbladder, inflammation
- Leukaemia, acute lymphoblastic
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- Addiction
- Addison's disease
- Adenoids and adenoidectomy
- Frozen shoulder
- Agoraphobia
- Air embolism
- Alcohol misuse
- Alcohol poisoning
- Alexander technique
- Rhinitis, allergic
- Indoor allergy
- Mountain sickness
- Alzheimer's disease
- Lazy eye
- Macular degeneration
- Memory loss
- Amniocentesis
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- Motor neurone disease
- Steroid misuse
- Iron deficiency anaemia
- Vitamin B12 or folate deficiency anaemia
- Anaesthesia
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- Angelman syndrome
- Anger management
- Angina
- Angioedema
- Arteriography
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- Dog bites
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- Ankylosing spondylitis
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- Smell sense, loss of
- Antacid medicines
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- Antidepressants
- Antifungal medicines
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- Antisocial personality disorder
- Hypochondria
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- Stress
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- Wrist, broken
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- Astigmatism
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- Hearing tests
- Bird flu
- B12 vitamin deficiency
- Skin rashes in babies
- Weaning
- Lumbago (low back pain)
- Septic arthritis
- Halitosis (bad breath)
- Weight loss surgery
- Barium enema
- Bartholin's cyst
- Pressure ulcers
- Bedbugs
- Nocturnal enuresis
- Behçet’s disease
- Facial paralysis
- Tongue pain or soreness
- Prostate enlargement
- Beta-blockers
- Bicarbonate test
- Binge eating
- Biopsy
- Bipolar disorder
- Spider bite
- Eye, black
- Bladder cancer
- Cystitis
- Bladder stones
- Blisters
- Blood donation
- Blood gases test
- Blood groups
- Coughing up blood
- Semen, bloody
- Urine, blood in the
- Vomiting blood
- Septicaemia
- Hypertension
- Low blood pressure
- Blood tests
- Blood transfusion
- Blushing
- Bromhidrosis (body odour)
- Bone cyst
- DXA scan
- Bone marrow donation
- Stem cell transplant
- Borderline personality disorder
- Bottle feeding
- Botulism
- Rectal cancer
- Polyps, bowel
- Leaky gut syndrome
- Orthodontics
- Brain abscess
- Head injury, severe
- Brain tumour, benign (non-cancerous)
- Brain tumour, malignant (cancerous)
- Brain tumours
- Breast abscess
- Breast cancer
- Male breast cancer
- Screening for breast cancer
- Nipple discharge
- Mastitis
- Breast lump
- Breastfeeding
- Shortness of breath
- Osteoporosis
- Fractured collarbone
- Hip fracture
- Leg, broken
- Fractured nose
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- Toe, broken
- Tooth, broken or knocked out
- Smelly feet (bromodosis)
- Bronchitis
- Teeth grinding
- Thyroid eye disease
- Bulimia
- Burns and scalds
- Heart bypass
- Caesarean section
- Food poisoning
- Cancer
- Thrush
- Thrush, men
- Thrush, oral - adults
- Thrush, oral - babies
- Carbon monoxide poisoning
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cartilage damage
- Nasal congestion
- Rib, cervical
- Smear test
- Sore lips
- Chemotherapy
- Chest infection, adult
- Chest pain
- Herpes zoster virus
- Statins
- Kidney disease, chronic
- Leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic
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- Cirrhosis
- Claustrophobia
- Cluster headaches
- White coated tongue
- Gluten intolerance
- Herpes simplex virus
- Cold
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- Combined contraceptive pill
- Pneumonia
- CT scan
- Concussion
- Hole in the heart
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- Conjunctivitis
- Constipation
- Contact dermatitis
- Corns and calluses
- Coronary heart disease
- Vegetative state
- Topical corticosteroids
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- Cosmetic surgery
- Cough
- Counselling
- Leg cramps
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- Undescended testicles
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- Cystic fibrosis
- Psoriatic arthritis
- Dandruff
- Date rape drugs
- Thyroiditis
- Hearing impairment
- Dehydration
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- Fluoride
- False teeth (dentures)
- Depression
- Dyspraxia in children
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- Rectal examination
- Double vision
- Nummular eczema
- Shoulder dislocation
- Diverticular disease and diverticulitis
- Lightheadedness
- Down's syndrome
- Dry eye syndrome
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- Periods, painful
- Indigestion
- Swallowing problems
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- Swimmer's ear
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- Ebola virus disease
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- Endoscopy
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- Epidural
- Epilepsy
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- Wind
- Seasonal flu
- Nail patella syndrome
- Food allergy
- Foot pain
- Frostbite
- Gallstones
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- Tendon repair, hand
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- Nits
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- Heat exhaustion and heatstroke
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- Periods, heavy
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- Hernia, femoral
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- Painkillers, ibuprofen
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- Inquest
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- Natural family planning
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- Vomiting in children and babies
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- Weight loss (unexpected and unplanned)
- Whiplash
- Wisdom tooth removal
- X-ray
- Yellow fever
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Read moreNHS Choices - Introduction
(21/11/2014)
Indigestion can be pain or discomfort in your upper abdomen (dyspepsia) or burning pain behind the breastbone (heartburn).
Dyspepsia and heartburn may occur together or on their own. Symptoms usually appear soon after eating or drinking.
Common associated symptoms include:
- feeling full or bloated
- feeling sick (nausea)
- belching
- bringing up (regurgitating) fluid or food into the gullet (oesophagus)
Indigestion is a common problem that affects many people, but in most cases it's mild and only occurs occasionally.
Read more about the symptoms of indigestion.
Why it happens
Indigestion may be caused by stomach acid coming into contact with the sensitive, protective lining of the digestive system (mucosa). The stomach acid breaks down the lining, leading to irritation and inflammation, which can be painful.
The majority of people with indigestion don't have inflammation in their digestive system. Therefore, their symptoms are thought to be caused by increased sensitivity of the mucosa (to acidity or stretching).
In most cases indigestion is related to eating, although it can be triggered by other factors such as smoking, drinking, alcohol, pregnancy, stress or taking certain medications.
Read more about the causes of indigestion.
Treating indigestion at home
Most people are able to treat indigestion with simple changes to their diet and lifestyle, or with a number of different medications, such as antacids.
Read more about the treatment of indigestion.
Read how to ease indigestion in pregnancy.
Very rarely, a serious underlying health condition is the cause of indigestion. If this is suspected, then further investigation such as an endoscopy will be required (see below).
When to see your doctor
Most people will not need to seek medical advice for their indigestion. However, it is important to see your GP if you have recurring indigestion and any of the following apply:
- you are 55 years old or over
- you have lost a lot of weight without meaning to
- you have increasing difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)
- you have persistent vomiting
- you have iron deficiency anaemia
- you have a lump in your stomach
- you have blood in your vomit or blood in your stools
This is because these symptoms may be a sign of an underlying health condition, such as a stomach ulcer or stomach cancer. You may need to be referred for an endoscopy to rule out any serious cause.
An endoscopy is a procedure where the inside of the body is examined using an endoscope (a thin, flexible tube that has a light and camera on one end).
Severe indigestion can cause long-term problems with parts of your digestive tract, such as scarring of the oesophagus or the passage from your stomach. Read more about the possible complications of severe indigestion.