Burning after meals, a sour taste, and a strip of antacids that has become a habit.
What it looks like: Burning in the chest or upper abdomen after eating; Sour or bitter taste rising in the throat; Worse lying down or bending over; A cough or hoarseness at night; Daily antacid use.
Reflux is read as Amlapitta — Pitta gone sour and moving upward instead of down. The aggravating factors the texts name are the ones our patients live by: skipped meals then a heavy late dinner, chillies and sour food, coffee on an empty stomach, irregular sleep, sustained stress.
Cooling internal medicines rather than more suppression, with a specific correction of meal pattern and timing. Where reflux comes with anxiety and disturbed sleep — usually — Takra Dhara or Shirodhara addresses the Pitta at the level of the mind. Long-standing cases may be planned for Virechana, the classical therapeutic purgation, which is the treatment of choice for entrenched Pitta.
Typical course: 4 to 6 weeks internally, with therapy where indicated.
When to see a doctor first, not us: Difficulty swallowing, vomiting blood, black stools, unexplained weight loss, or chest pain radiating to the jaw or arm — the last of these is a cardiac emergency. Do not assume chest burning is only acidity.
Assessed at Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe, a doctor-led Ayurveda hospital at Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131 — reachable from Sholinganallur, Medavakkam, OMR, Velachery, Pallikaranai and Tambaram. Open every day, 10 AM to 8 PM.
This page is for you if heartburn, a sour taste or a burning stomach has become part of your routine. Perhaps you keep antacids in your bag, sleep propped up on pillows, or have taken an acid-reducing tablet every morning for longer than you meant to. You may want to understand why it keeps returning and whether there is another way to approach it. Here we explain how Ayurveda reads acidity, how the doctor assesses it and what treatment can involve.
Pitta is described as hot, sharp, slightly oily and liquid, and its natural taste is sour. In health, those qualities do the work of digestion. When they are increased, the same digestive heat starts to be felt as burning in the chest, the throat or the stomach.
The classical texts distinguish two directions. In the upward type, burning, sour belching, nausea and a bitter taste lead; in the downward type, the heat shows lower in the gut, with loose motions, burning on passing stool and thirst. Some people have elements of both, and the direction influences which medicines the doctor chooses.
Kapha and Vata can be involved as well. Someone who feels heavy and nauseous after a small meal, with a coated tongue, presents differently from someone who is ravenously hungry and burning within an hour of eating, and the two are not given the same treatment.
At the first consultation, which runs 40 to 60 minutes, the doctor asks when the burning comes on, what eases it, how your nights are, and how much antacid or acid-reducing medicine you take. Your pulse and tongue are examined and your constitution assessed. Your working day is discussed in some detail too, because meal timing on a shift or a long commute often explains more than the food itself.
Chest discomfort is never assumed to be acidity. If your symptoms could be coming from the heart, or there is anything that needs investigation, you will be asked to see a physician or gastroenterologist before treatment is planned here.
Internal medicines come first. They are prescribed only after the consultation and dispensed from our in-house pharmacy with every ingredient named. For acidity they are usually cooling and soothing in character, and they change depending on whether your pattern runs upward or downward.
Takra Dhara, a cool-to-tepid stream of medicated buttermilk over the forehead, and Shirodhara, a warm oil stream, are considered where the burning travels with poor sleep, irritability or a racing mind. Matra Vasti may be added where Vata is part of the picture, for example with bloating, dryness or constipation alongside the burning. Udwarthanam is considered where excess weight is contributing, since weight around the middle can make reflux more likely.
Plans differ because acidity differs. Someone whose reflux comes mostly at night after late dinners needs a different emphasis from someone whose stomach burns mid-morning on an empty stomach. For some people, medicine and a few firm changes to routine are the whole plan.
Internal treatment usually runs for 4 to 6 weeks. Therapy is added only where it is indicated, often as a short block of sessions within that period rather than throughout. The doctor reviews you during the course to see how often you still reach for antacids, how your nights are and how your appetite has settled, and adjusts the medicines accordingly.
Sessions can be fitted around work, since the hospital is open every day from 10 AM to 8 PM; therapy slots are better booked ahead. The cost depends on the plan, and the clinic tells you before you book.
The usual medical care for acidity is antacids for quick symptom control and a proton pump inhibitor (PPI) or similar tablet for longer control, sometimes with a course of antibiotics if H. pylori has been found. We never ask you to stop medication prescribed by another doctor. Bring the list, and the doctor plans the timing of Ayurvedic medicines around yours.
Some regular medicines aggravate acidity themselves, particularly painkillers taken for joint pain or headaches. If that applies to you, the doctor will point it out so that you can discuss alternatives with the doctor who prescribed them, rather than simply adding more treatment.
Your own list is written for your pattern at the consultation. These general points are a sensible place to begin.
Sri Vinayaga Ayurvibe — 12/597, Main Road, Nethaji Nagar Main Rd, Nookampalayam, Perumbakkam, Chennai 600131. Phone: +91 81229 39197.