Indegestion and heartburn- whats's the difference?

[Nadine]

Can anyone tell me the difference between indegestion and heartburn?

Thanks

[kerry]

I'm no expert but I think the differenct is that heartburn is a form of indigestion....

Indigestion is a generic term used to discribe the pain of everything from food intolerences, ulcers, bloating, reflux (heartburn) and a few other conditions to boot.

Heatburn is a 'laymans' term for gastro-oesophageal reflux (aka reflux, and acidic indigestion). This is when the stomach acids leak through the valve at the top of the stomach and burn the oesophagus (tube from the mouth to the stomach.

Basically Heartburn is a type of indigestion and indigestion is a universal term to discribe any discomfort or medical condition associated with the stomach and diet.

Hope that helps... although I will warn you its based on what I remember from an asignment I did at uni (about 9 years ago) on illnesses of the digestive system... so being pg and having gestational dimentia I could be right of the mark.. damn pg brain.