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What is acidity?

Dr Parveen Kumar
Hon. Consultant Physician and Gastroenterologist,
St. Bartholomew's The Royal London and Homerton Hospitals, UK

Q: What are the symptoms of acidity, what is the cause of acidity and how to prevent or recover from it. Also let me know whether the pain in shoulder and chest is due to acidity.

A:Acidity is a very vague term used by many people when they have burning pain in the upper part of the stomach or behind the chest bone, burping and indigestion after meals. It can occur at any time and there may be no pathology or it can be related to stomach ulcer. Acid is produced by the glands in the stomach and some foods produce more secretion of acid than others. Pain in the chest can be related to acidity but not in the shoulders.