Digestion & Stomach

Back pain isn’t a direct symptom of acid reflux, but you can get a burning pain that may spread from your chest to your neck, shoulder blades, and lower back.

If your back pain is related to your acid reflux, it would most likely flare up when you eat a certain food or drink, and may be accompanied by heartburn, a burning sensation in your chest.

Rest is usually an option for nerve-related back pain, for example, but as it’s caused by the acid in the stomach, painkillers or antacids are a good solution to easing your symptoms.

You’re usually able to treat constipation yourself with just a few simple changes to your lifestyle and diet - which you can also try if you’re pregnant.

Try increasing the amount of fibre in your diet and the amount of fluid you drink (avoid alcohol) as it may make your stool easier to pass.

By increasing the amount of exercise you do, it will improve how often you need to use the toilet.

If none of these changes work for your constipation, your healthcare provider might recommend an enema, which softens the stool to make it easier to pass.

There are various reasons why you might be suffering from indigestion and heartburn, such as certain foods, drinks and medication.

The most common reasons are the result of eating fatty, greasy or spicy foods, overeating or eating your food too fast, consuming too much caffeine or alcohol, smoking, anxiety and medications like certain antibiotics or painkillers.

If you keep getting indigestion, you might need to make some lifestyle alterations - try altering your diet to see if it improves and, if it doesn’t, speak to your GP for advice.

If you want a diarrhoea treatment that works quickly, try an over-the-counter product like loperamide (Imodium) or Pepto-Bismol.

Antibiotics may be given if it’s caused by a bacteria or parasite which you may have gotten from consuming food or water that’s been contaminated.

Diarrhoea that’s caused by a viral infection cannot be treated with antibiotics - you may want to try treatments at home, like eating bland foods, taking probiotics and drinking rice water.

Indigestion is common during pregnancy because of hormonal changes and your baby being pressed against your stomach.

You can reduce your symptoms by altering your diet and lifestyle, and there are even indigestion medicines that are safe to be taken during pregnancy if you need to relieve your symptoms.

You can get indigestion at any point during your pregnancy, but they are more common when you’re 27 weeks and over.

You can experience vomiting and diarrhoea with acid reflux, but it isn’t common.

You might just be sensitive to the sour taste in your mouth caused by acid reflux that may have made you vomit.

Try taking over-the-counter antacids to ease your symptoms, but if they last longer than 72 hours, it’s important to get your symptoms checked with a medical professional.