Burping and indigestion: what to know

Indigestion can cause upper-abdominal discomfort, fullness, nausea, or burning. Eating quickly, fizzy drinks, chewing gum, smoking, and talking while eating can increase swallowed air and burping. Acid reflux, gastritis, a hiatus hernia, or a peptic ulcer can also produce overlapping symptoms. Gallstones may cause pain after meals, especially beneath the ribs on the right, while Helicobacter pylori infection can irritate the stomach lining. These symptoms do not identify one condition on their own.

Try smaller meals, eat slowly, and remain upright after eating. Reduce fizzy drinks and notice whether fatty, spicy, or acidic foods trigger discomfort. Avoid lying down soon after a meal and keep a brief record of food, timing, pain, stool changes, and medicines. A pharmacist or clinician can advise whether an antacid or acid reflux medication is suitable, particularly if you take other medicines or are pregnant.

Arrange medical advice if symptoms keep returning, interfere with eating or sleep, or come with unexplained weight loss, repeated vomiting, trouble swallowing, black stools, or yellowing of the skin. Seek urgent help for severe or worsening abdominal pain, vomiting blood, fainting, or chest pressure with breathlessness or sweating.

Ask what may be causing the pattern, whether testing for Helicobacter pylori is appropriate, and which medicines or foods could be contributing. Ask how long to try a treatment and which changes should prompt an earlier review.