Stinging in the stomach

Introduction

More and more patients complain about an unpleasant burning in the stomach, especially after eating. This raises the question where the burning comes from and what can be done about it. And above all: What helps against the nausea and flatulence that are often associated with it?

The stomach‘s task is to break down the food it has taken in into its individual components and, if necessary, to store food if there is no room in the intestine. The stomach manages to break down food by producing a very strong acid, hydrochloric acid. Besides other enzymes such as pepsin and cathepsin, hydrochloric acid is responsible for the decomposition of food.

Hydrochloric acid is therefore a substance that is produced naturally in the body and is elementary for digestion. However, only the stomach is sufficiently protected against this strong acid. If hydrochloric acid passes from the stomach into the oesophagus, we perceive this as an unpleasant burning sensation in the stomach – or the stomach entrance.

The ascending, burning pain in the esophagus is then called heartburn. Hydrochloric acid is produced by the stomach, especially after eating, as the food pulp must then be crushed. It is therefore only logical that we experience heartburn particularly often after eating.

However, heartburn need not be restricted to the chest area, the upper and lower abdomen can also be affected. A number of substances that we ingest with food are particularly likely to cause heartburn. These include particularly fatty dishes, such as deep-fried French fries, fatty and strongly seasoned meat (the classic pork neck steak), ready-made baked goods that contain a lot of sugar and, last but not least, foods that contain a lot of salt.

But drinks can also cause a burning sensation in the stomach and chest area. Alcohol, acidic drinks like cola and fanta, and coffee are the most dangerous. The popular herbal schnapps after a meal is therefore not really helpful – quite unlike the “aperitif”.

It “lures” the stomach acid before the meal, and thus ensures that the food is digested immediately. This was especially important in the 18th and early 19th century, when food was not always free of germs. Thus, the burning sensation in the stomach after eating can be caused by an excess of gastric acid.

But the opposite can also be the case, a lack of stomach acid. At first this admittedly sounds a bit illogical, but with an acid deficiency the stomach has to make a special effort to chop up the food. This can be achieved by mixing the chyme very thoroughly.

The chyme is therefore “kneaded” vigorously in the stomach so that the small amount of gastric acid available to it is distributed as widely as possible. It can happen that acidified food from the stomach is pressed back into the oesophagus and this can burn. This is therefore a different process than the acidosis of the stomach.

Unfortunately, the person affected does not know whether there is too much or too little acid in the stomach. Therefore you have to try what helps in acute cases after eating. Some patients are helped by particularly acidic drinks, such as cola, or food, such as sauerkraut – then there is probably a lack of stomach acid.

Others are helped by natural apple juice, or a beer – then there is probably an excess of stomach acid, because these are basic, non-acidic drinks. Also the way of eating and the general habits of life make a big difference: For example, heartburn, and burning in the stomach occurs especially after hasty eating, when the food has hardly been crushed. If the food is also industrially processed (“ready-made pizza”), the chance of heartburn increases many times over.