Several symptoms of indigestion occur to give a clear indication of the trouble in the stomach area. In addition to heartburn, if the person experiences indigestion, he will probably face one or more of the symptoms of indigestion.
The particular symptoms of indigestion include pain or burning in the upper belly - usually in the middle, nausea (feeling sick to the stomach), bloating (that too-full feeling where your stomach sticks out), burping that one may have a hard time controlling, heartburns, excessive gas formation in the stomach also indicates there is indigestion. More indications like expelling of gas, stomach pain, swelling of belly or heaviness in the stomach due to overeating indicates indigestion.
Most people with indigestion experience fullness during a meal. The person feels overly full soon after the meal starts and cannot finish the meal. It may feel like the food is staying in the stomach too long. Epigastric pain is also a symptom. The epigastric area is between the lower end of the chest bone and the navel. The person may experience epigastric pain ranging from mild to severe. The person feels an unpleasant sensation of heat in the epigastric area. Other, less frequent symptoms that may occur with indigestion are nausea, bloating, and an unpleasant tightness in the stomach. Nausea and bloating could be due to causes other than indigestion.
Sometimes the term indigestion is used to describe the symptom of heartburn, but these are two different conditions. Heartburn is a painful, burning feeling in the area of chest that radiates toward the neck or back region. Heartburn is caused by stomach acid rising into the esophagus and may be a symptom of GERD. A person can experience symptoms of both indigestion and heartburn. To diagnose indigestion, the doctor asks about the person`s current symptoms and medical history and performs a physical examination. The doctor may order X-rays of the stomach and small intestine. The doctor may perform blood, breath, or stool tests if the type of bacteria that causes peptic ulcer disease is assumed as the cause of indigestion.
The doctor may perform an upper endoscopy. After prescribing a sedative to help the person become drowsy, the doctor passes an endoscope that is a long, thin tube that has a light and small camera on the end through the mouth and gently guides it down the esophagus into the stomach. The doctor can look at the esophagus and stomach with the endoscope to check for any abnormalities. The doctor may perform biopsies by removing small pieces of tissue for examination with a microscope to look for possible damage from GERD or an infection.
Indigestion can be a sign of a more serious condition and lead to tremendous problems. The patient should see a doctor right away if they experience frequent vomiting, blood in vomit, weight loss or loss of appetite, black tarry stools, difficult or painful swallowing, abdominal pain in a nonepigastric area, indigestion accompanied by shortness of breath, sweating, or pain that radiates to the jaw, neck, or arm and symptoms that persist for more than 2 weeks. The symptoms of indigestion should not be ignored, but immediately looked after experienced.
