Indigestion, especially nowadays is a very common complaint. It can be considered that stress, along with the nutrition habits, which continuously stray away from being healthy cause indigestion.
Indigestion is a comprehensive complaint, which generally occurs after we eat something and also, includes various complaints in the abdomen area. The main symptom of indigestion is pain or discomfort in the upper abdomen area. Patients, who suffer from indigestion, usually also have a burning feeling behind their chest bone, which is also known as heartburn. However, heartburn and indigestion are two different conditions. Heartburn is caused by the acids, which must stay on the stomach, but travel through the oesophagus.
Usually, indigestion symptoms appear after eating something, but it is also possible to feel indigestion symptoms later on.
It is possible to feel fullness, pressure, pain, burning, burping, stress or swelling in your stomach when you have indigestion.
What causes indigestion?
Usually, indigestion is the result of various living style habits. Habits like consuming fatty food, smoking, alcohol, drinking a lot of high caffeine products or eating quickly and sometimes used drugs can cause indigestion.
Diseases like ulcer, constipation, reflux, pancreatitis, gall bladder disorders, and infection in the stomach (gastritis), oesophagus disorders, and stomach cancer can also cause indigestion.
In cases of duodenal ulcer and pancreas disorders, indigestion can be seen one or two hours after having a meal.
Indigestion caused by consuming fatty food can be caused by gall bladder or pancreas failures. For some individuals, wheat or milk, and egg allergies can also be a cause of indigestion.
In case the patients also have excessive wind and bloating in their stomach, it makes us to consider digestive system disorders and it may be necessary to be examined by a gastroenterology specialist.
On the other hand, complaints of the majority of the patients who has embolism or constrictions in their vessels, which go to the heart, may mix up with indigestion and heartburn complaints.
Patients with indigestion may have the following symptoms:
- Feeling full after just a few bites while eating and stopping to eat because of that feeling
- Feeling uncomfortably full after the meal and this feeling lasts for a long period
- Burping and flatulation
- The food and liquids in the stomach come to the mouth
- Bloating
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Acidic feeling in the mouth
- Stomach rumbling
- Burning feeling in the stomach or the upper abdomen area
- Pain in the belly