Symptoms of Heartburn

Video Transcript

""Are you like a living example of the Pepto-Bismol commercial?" Hi, I'm Dr. Savage. I'm an osteopathic family practice physician from Tampa and I'm here to describe the symptoms of heartburn. As that commercial indicates, classically, heartburn starts right here in the upper abdomen. Upset stomach, indigestion, occasionally irritation of the bowels below, secondary to that. But it also can cause symptoms before the stomach. This happens because acid in the stomach actually is able to come up into the esophagus, irritate that tube which brings food from your mouth into your stomach, and causes an indigest. Now with that said, if you think might be having an heart attack, of course call 911 immediately. But other symptoms of having reflux include actually hoarseness. That acid can get up all the way into the voice box and cause irritation there, giving you a hoarse voice. Who would've thought that taking an antacid could potentially help your sore throat. Another thing is the acid could potentially get into the respiratory airway causing a dry cough. So I hope that this has been informative because most people don't actually know that, that actually can cause so many different symptoms, so many different places. And that's why it is important to speak to your physician if you're having any of these symptoms. I'm Dr. Savage. I wish you the best of health."