Indigestion

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2]

Indigestion is a term used to describe a feeling of fullness or discomfort during or after a meal. It can be accompanied by burning or pain in the upper stomach. It is a condition that is frequently caused by eating too fast, especially by eating high-fat foods quickly. There are many possible causes of indigestion, of which some are related to lifestyle.

Indigestion is an old english word meaning lack of digestion. Dyspepsia like symptoms have been recognized since the birth of medicine, however, the underlying pathogenesis of dyspepsia only began to be appreciated when Baillie in 1799 first described the anatomy and symptoms of gastric ulcer disease. The development of barium x-ray radiology, by Cannon in 1897, led to the clinical recognition of peptic ulcer disease and its relationship with its symptoms. Walter Alvarez at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN was the first to apply the term functional dyspepsia in 1916 to describe patients with ulcer-like symptoms and a normal X-ray.

Discomfort or pain in the upper abdomen, early fullness while eating, bloating, sense of fullness after eating are the usual symptoms expressed by the patients. Sometimes indigestion is accompanied by heartburn which is a separate condition.

People without risk factors for serious causes of dyspepsia usually do not need investigation beyond an office based clinical examination.

People over the age 55 years and those with alarm features are usually investigated by esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD). People under the age of 55 years with no alarm features do not need EGD but are considered for investigation for peptic ulcer disease caused by Helicobacter pylori infection.

Avoiding foods and situations that seem to cause it may help. Indigestion can be a sign of a more serious problem. Seeing a health care provider if it lasts for more than two weeks and involves severe pain or other symptoms is very important.

Template:WikiDoc Sources

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2]

Please help WikiDoc by adding more content here. It’s easy! Click here to learn about editing.

Indigestion is an old english word meaning lack of digestion. Dyspepsia symptoms have been recognized since the birth of medicine, however, the underlying pathogenesis of dyspepsia only began to be appreciated when Baillie in 1799 first described the anatomy and symptoms of gastric ulcer disease. The development of barium x-ray radiology, by Cannon in 1897, led to the clinical recognition of peptic ulcer disease and its relationship with its symptoms. Walter Alvarez at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN was the first to apply the term functional dyspepsia in 1916 to describe patients with ulcer-like symptoms and a normal X-ray.

Template:WikiDoc Sources

Please help WikiDoc by adding content here. It’s easy! Click here to learn about editing.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Please help WikiDoc by adding more content here. It’s easy! Click here to learn about editing.

• In humans, digestion begins in the mouth where food is chewed. Salivary amylase aids in the chemical breakdown of polysaccharides such as starch into disaccharides such as maltose.
• The chewed food is pushed down the esophagus to the stomach through peristaltic contraction of these muscles.
• Food enters the stomach where it is further broken apart and thoroughly mixed with gastric acid, pepsin and other digestive enzymes to break down proteins.
• After consumption of food, digestive tonic and peristaltic contractions begin, which helps break down the food and move it through. Gastric emptying is the release of food from the stomach into the duodenum. Gastric emptying has attracted medical interest as rapid gastric emptying is related to obesity and delayed gastric emptying syndrome is associated with diabetes mellitus, aging, and gastroesophageal reflux.
• After being processed in the stomach, food is passed to the small intestine. The majority of digestion and absorption occurs here after the milky chyme enters the duodenum. Here it is further mixed with three different liquids:
  • Bile which is produced by the liver and stored in the gallbladder emulsifies fats and neutralizes the chyme.
  • Pancreatic juice made by the pancreas. It secrete enzymes such as pancreatic amylase, pancreatic lipase, and trypsinogen.
  • Intestinal juice secreted by the intestinal glands in the small intestine. It contains enzymes such as enteropeptidase, erepsin, trypsin, chymotrypsin, maltase, lactase and sucrase.

Template:WikiDoc Sources

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

• Acid reflux / heartburn

• Alcohol

• Aspirin and many other painkillers

• Duodenal ulcer

• Eating fatty foods

• Eating just before sleeping

• Eating spicy foods

• Eating too late in the evening

• Excess caffeine consumption

• Gastric ulcer

• Intestinal obstruction

• Malabsorption

• Obesity

Please help WikiDoc by adding content here. It’s easy! Click here to learn about editing.

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

• Eating meals too quickly
• Emotional stress while eating
• Overabundance of high-fiber foods
• Overconsumption of alcohol
• Overconsumption of caffeine
• Spicy, high-fat, and greasy foods
• Tobacco use
• Too much food at meals

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Please help WikiDoc by adding more content here. It’s easy! Click here to learn about editing.

Medication related indigestion is usually related to Non-Steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) and can be complicated by bleeding or ulceration with perforation of the stomach wall.