What helps heartburn and when to see a doctor
Practical relief for heartburn after meals and at night, the differences between medicines and when to arrange a medical assessment.
Occasional heartburn may improve with smaller meals, staying upright after eating and leaving at least three hours between your last substantial meal and lying down. A pharmacist can help you choose a medicine for short-term relief. If heartburn returns several times a week, wakes you or persists despite treatment, book a medical appointment. Heartburn often involves acid reflux, when stomach contents flow back into the oesophagus.
For new or unusual chest pain, call 155 in Czechia. Tightness, breathlessness, sweating or pain spreading to your arm or jaw may also occur, but you do not need to have these symptoms to call for help. A heart attack can feel like burning indigestion. Do not wait to see whether heartburn medicine helps.
What heartburn is and how it relates to acid reflux
Heartburn is a burning sensation behind the breastbone that may rise towards your throat. You may also notice a sour taste or fluid or food coming back into your mouth. Describing it simply as “too much stomach acid” misses the key issue: stomach contents reach the oesophagus, where they can irritate its lining.
Reflux is the name for this backward flow. It can happen occasionally without an underlying disease. Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, also called GORD or GERD, involves repeated troublesome symptoms or complications. One episode after a large meal does not establish that diagnosis.
What causes heartburn after eating
A ring of muscle between your oesophagus and stomach helps keep stomach contents down. Reflux can occur when it relaxes at the wrong time or does not close effectively. A hiatus hernia, pregnancy, excess weight and smoking can contribute.
Large meals, bending over or lying down soon after eating can make heartburn worse. Some people notice symptoms after coffee, alcohol, chocolate, fatty food or spicy dishes. Triggers vary between people. Tracking your own pattern is more useful than automatically cutting out a long list of foods.
Some medicines, including certain anti-inflammatory painkillers, can also worsen symptoms. Tell your doctor or pharmacist if heartburn started after a medication change. Do not stop prescribed medicines yourself.
What can help occasional heartburn
For familiar, mild symptoms without warning signs:
- Have a smaller portion. Avoid getting overly full, particularly in the evening.
- Stay upright after meals. Avoid deep bending and heavy lifting straight after eating too.
- Reduce pressure around your stomach. A tight belt or waistband may worsen symptoms.
- Limit your own triggers. Look for food or drink that repeatedly brings on heartburn.
- If you smoke, ask for support to stop.
These measures may ease symptoms. Repeated heartburn still deserves medical assessment.
Heartburn at night or when lying down
Heartburn at night may relate to a late meal and lying flat. Try finishing your last substantial meal at least three hours before bed. If you work shifts, count backwards from when you actually lie down rather than using a fixed evening cut-off.
Raising the head end of your bed by around 10–20 cm may also help by elevating both your head and chest. Simply adding pillows under your head is different and can increase pressure on your stomach. Discuss symptoms that regularly wake you with a doctor.
How heartburn medicines differ
Before choosing a medicine, tell the pharmacist how often symptoms occur, what other medicines you take and whether you are pregnant. The main groups work in different ways:
| Group | What it does |
|---|---|
| Antacids | Neutralise stomach acid and may quickly ease mild symptoms. |
| Alginates | Form a barrier on top of stomach contents that helps reduce their flow back into the oesophagus. |
| Proton pump inhibitors or PPIs | Reduce acid production and are also used to treat reflux disease. |
Unlike antacids, PPIs do not usually provide immediate relief. It may take several days before symptoms start to improve. Their full effect may take longer.
Antacids can affect how other medicines are absorbed. Ask a pharmacist about the appropriate gap between doses and follow the instructions for your product. If you need them regularly or they do not help, discuss the cause with a doctor.
Use over-the-counter medicines only for the duration stated in the leaflet, and seek medical advice sooner if symptoms worsen. Do not change long-term prescribed PPI treatment without discussing it with your doctor.
When to book an appointment and when to seek urgent help
Book an appointment if heartburn occurs twice a week or more, disrupts sleep or daily life, or continues despite lifestyle changes and treatment. Frequent use of pharmacy medicines is another reason to seek medical advice.
Tell a doctor promptly about difficulty or pain when swallowing, food feeling stuck, repeated vomiting or unexplained weight loss. Do not delay assessment while trying more heartburn remedies.
If food is stuck and you cannot swallow even your saliva, seek emergency medical care.
Call 155 if you vomit blood or material that looks like coffee grounds, or pass black, tarry stools. These can be signs of gastrointestinal bleeding. Do not wait for weakness, fainting or breathlessness. The dispatcher will assess the situation and tell you what to do.
What happens at an acid reflux assessment
For repeated heartburn, a GP is a suitable first contact. Describe your symptoms, other health concerns, medicines and what you have already tried. Your doctor may recommend treatment and lifestyle changes first. Not everyone needs a gastroscopy straight away.
Warning signs, an uncertain cause or symptoms that do not improve may lead to a gastroenterology referral and further tests. A gastroscopy lets a doctor examine the lining of the oesophagus and stomach. In some cases, monitoring acidity in the oesophagus helps check whether symptoms are linked to reflux. The choice of tests depends on your symptoms.
What to note before your appointment
Bring a short record that helps the doctor understand the pattern:
- when symptoms started and how many times a week they occur;
- whether they follow meals, bending or lying down, and whether they wake you;
- whether sour fluid comes into your mouth or swallowing is difficult;
- the names of remedies you have tried, their effect and your other medicines.
For example, “late dinner, lay down half an hour later, then burning and a sour taste” gives more context than “heartburn after food”. Our appointment preparation checklist offers more practical steps.
Common questions about heartburn
Does heartburn every day mean reflux disease?
Daily heartburn can be a sign of reflux disease, but frequency alone cannot establish the diagnosis. Arrange an assessment, particularly if you repeatedly need medicines or symptoms wake you.
Can acid reflux cause a cough or hoarse voice?
Yes. Reflux can contribute to a persistent cough or hoarseness, sometimes without typical heartburn. Both symptoms have other causes, so a cough alone does not confirm reflux. Our article on a lingering cough explains more.
What helps heartburn during pregnancy?
Smaller meals and avoiding lying down soon after eating may help. Check medicines with a pharmacist or doctor and always mention your pregnancy. Some products are unsuitable, and antacids can affect the absorption of iron or folic acid.
Help arranging a medical appointment in Prague
If you need help arranging an appointment for repeated heartburn, contact OpenMedical. Briefly describe your symptoms and preferred consultation language. OpenMedical helps organise care with partner providers. The treating doctor decides which investigations and treatment are appropriate.
This article provides general information for adults and does not replace an individual medical assessment.
Sources
Sources checked on 20–21 October 2026.
- NZIP — heartburn and dietary measures for oesophageal and stomach conditions.
- NIDDK — reflux and reflux disease, symptoms and causes, eating and nutrition, treatment and diagnosis.
- NHS — heartburn and acid reflux, antacids, pregnancy, heart attack and vomiting blood.
- Cambridge University Hospitals — dietary and lifestyle advice for reflux.
- American College of Gastroenterology — acid reflux and GERD.
- MedlinePlus — heartburn.
- Czech public administration portal — emergency numbers.
- NHS — PPI onset of action, taking omeprazole and how an alginate product works.
- ASGE — food impaction and emergency assessment.
- Prague Emergency Medical Service — when to call 155 and how dispatchers help.
- Mayo Clinic — gastrointestinal bleeding symptoms and immediate medical care.
