Heartburn is stomach acid reaching the food pipe, and the burning is felt behind the breastbone, often after a large or late meal, alcohol, or bending over. The three big names on the shelf do three different jobs.
1. Antacids - fast, short
Rennie and similar chewable tablets neutralise acid already in the stomach. Relief in minutes, lasts an hour or two. Good for the occasional flare after a curry. Rennie Deflatine adds simeticone for trapped wind and bloating.
2. Alginates - the raft
Gaviscon combines an antacid with sodium alginate, which forms a floating "raft" on top of the stomach contents so acid cannot splash back up. Take it after meals and at bedtime. Longer-lasting than a plain antacid and the usual first choice for night-time reflux. Liquid works fastest; the chewable tablets are handy for the bag or desk. Gaviscon is also the option most often recommended in pregnancy - check with us or your midwife.
3. Acid reducers - fewer episodes
Proton pump inhibitors such as Nexium Control (esomeprazole) and Pyrocalm Control (omeprazole) switch off acid production. They are not for instant relief - they take a day or two to reach full effect - but taken once a day for up to two weeks they stop the pattern of daily heartburn. Because they can mask more serious problems, they are pharmacy medicines: online you complete a short heartburn consultation and our pharmacist reviews it before we supply. If you need them for longer than two weeks, that is a GP conversation, not another pack.
Which one, when
- Once in a while after a big meal: an antacid or Gaviscon.
- Most nights, or waking with acid in the throat: Gaviscon at bedtime; if it keeps happening, a two-week course of an acid reducer.
- Pregnancy: alginates or antacids first; ask before anything else.
- Bloating and wind rather than burning: a simeticone product may suit better than acid treatment.
Small changes that beat any tablet
Smaller evening meals, nothing within three hours of bed, raising the head of the bed a few inches, losing a little weight if you carry it around the middle, and cutting back on the classic triggers: alcohol, coffee, chocolate, fatty and spicy food, and smoking. Some painkillers (ibuprofen, aspirin) irritate the stomach - paracetamol is kinder if you need pain relief.
See a GP if
- Heartburn most days for three weeks or more, or it is not settling with treatment
- Difficulty or pain swallowing, food sticking
- Vomiting, especially with blood; black or tarry stools
- Unexplained weight loss, or you are over 55 with new symptoms
Chest pain that spreads to the arm or jaw, with sweating or breathlessness, is not heartburn until proven otherwise - call 999.
Everything here is in our digestive health collection. Questions: 0151 263 3631. Always read the label; general information, not a diagnosis.
