What’s wrong with heartburn when you drink?

Heartburn from drinking is mainly related to the irritating effects of alcohol. As a relatively strong chemical irritant after drinking alcohol, it can directly damage the protective mucosal barrier of the stomach and esophagus. At the same time, under the effect of alcohol, the muscles of the lower part of the esophagus and the pyloric portion of the stomach can relax and become dysfunctional, causing the reflux of bile and gastric acid into the stomach and then into the esophagus. On the one hand, it increases the stimulation of bile and alcohol, and on the other hand, it weakens the protective barrier of the mucosa of the stomach and esophagus, so the dual mechanism causes a burning sensation in the upper abdomen and the chest of the esophagus, which causes heartburn. When this happens, the first thing to do is prevention, mainly by reducing the amount of alcohol consumed or not drinking at all, because the stimulating effect of alcohol is inevitable even if the amount of alcohol consumed is small. Secondly, if heartburn is evident after drinking, it can be treated for all the above factors by using some of the drugs that protect the esophageal and gastric mucosa, such as magnesium aluminum carbonate or Schweizel. The above are treatments to increase the protective barrier of the mucosa. In addition, you can also use drugs that reduce irritating factors, such as some gastric acid inhibitors, containing H2 receptor antagonists as well as proton pump inhibitors, which are a variety of options such as PPI class, etc. You can also consider the use of famotidine, omeprazole, rabeprazole, etc.