What to do during an acid reflux attack

The discomfort often rises from the upper abdomen or lower chest toward the throat and may leave a sour taste. Because heart and lung problems can also cause chest symptoms, an unfamiliar, severe, or persistent episode deserves caution.

A flare may follow a large or rich meal, bending, or lying down. Alongside burning, acid reflux can present with belching, nausea, throat irritation, hoarseness, or cough. A hiatus hernia can make reflux easier to trigger, but the symptoms alone cannot identify its cause.

Chest tightness is not specific to reflux. Pain brought on by exertion, pressure spreading into an arm, jaw, shoulder, or back, sweating, faintness, or shortness of breath requires urgent assessment rather than a trial of heartburn treatment.

Stop eating, sit upright, loosen tight clothing around the waist, and avoid bending or lying flat. Small sips of water may clear an acidic taste, although drinking a large volume at once can increase stomach fullness. Do not provoke vomiting.

If a pharmacist or clinician has already advised an antacid or alginate for you, use it according to its label. Check first if you are pregnant, have kidney disease, follow a sodium restriction, or take other medicines. Repeated flares call for a longer-term plan rather than frequent unsupervised remedies.

Call emergency services for crushing or severe chest pain, breathing difficulty, collapse, heavy sweating, or pain spreading beyond the chest. Seek urgent care for vomiting blood, material resembling coffee grounds, black tarry stool, severe abdominal pain, or food stuck in the throat.

Book a medical review if episodes recur, wake you from sleep, make swallowing painful, cause persistent vomiting, or are accompanied by unexplained weight loss. Keeping notes on meals, timing, position, medicines, and symptoms can reveal patterns without imposing unnecessary food restrictions.

Describe where the discomfort starts, where it travels, how long it lasts, and whether exertion or swallowing affects it. Ask whether your current medicines can aggravate reflux, which rescue treatment is appropriate, and whether frequent symptoms need investigation or preventive therapy.