A chewable antacid containing calcium carbonate is the single fastest way to neutralize stomach acid, raising your stomach’s pH in under a minute and providing relief for about an hour. If you’re dealing with bad heartburn right now, that’s your best first move. But there are several other strategies, both immediate and short-term, that can knock out the burn and keep it from coming back.
Chewable Antacids Work in Seconds
Over-the-counter antacids based on calcium carbonate (Tums, Rolaids) or a calcium/magnesium carbonate combination (Rennie) neutralize acid on contact. In laboratory testing that simulates real stomach conditions, a calcium/magnesium carbonate tablet raised stomach pH above the pain threshold within 40 seconds and reached its peak effect within 10 minutes. The trade-off is duration: calcium carbonate’s acid-neutralizing effect lasts only about 60 minutes.
That short window is fine for a single episode, but if you need longer coverage, you can pair an antacid with a different type of medication. Famotidine (sold as Pepcid) works by a completely different mechanism: it blocks the signal that tells your stomach to produce acid. It takes about 90 minutes to kick in, but once it does, it suppresses acid for roughly nine hours. Taking an antacid for immediate relief while the famotidine builds up gives you the best of both worlds.
Baking Soda: A Kitchen-Counter Option
Half a teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) dissolved in a full glass of cold water neutralizes stomach acid quickly and is recognized by the Mayo Clinic as an appropriate short-term remedy. You can repeat the dose every two hours if needed, but don’t exceed five teaspoons in a single day.
There are some important limits. Baking soda is loaded with sodium, so it’s not a good choice if you have high blood pressure, heart disease, kidney disease, or are on a sodium-restricted diet. Don’t take it within one to two hours of other oral medications, because it can interfere with absorption. Don’t combine it with large amounts of milk. And don’t rely on it for more than two weeks. If your heartburn keeps returning, that’s a sign something else is going on.
Body Position Makes a Real Difference
If heartburn hits while you’re lying down, how you position yourself matters more than you might think. Research from Harvard Health found that lying on your left side clears acid from the esophagus significantly faster than lying on your back or right side. The number of reflux episodes was the same regardless of position, but the acid lingered far less on the left side, which means less pain and less tissue damage.
Elevating your upper body with a wedge pillow also helps. Stacking regular pillows doesn’t work as well because they tend to bend you at the waist, which can actually increase abdominal pressure and make things worse. A true wedge that raises your entire torso uses gravity to keep acid where it belongs.
If heartburn strikes after a meal while you’re still up, stay upright. Don’t lie down, and avoid bending over. Walking gently can help move food through your stomach faster.
Chew Gum for 30 Minutes
Chewing gum stimulates saliva production, and saliva is mildly alkaline. When you swallow more frequently, you’re pushing a natural acid buffer down into your esophagus while also triggering the wave-like muscle contractions that clear acid out. One study had participants chew gum for up to an hour after a meal and found it increased both salivary flow and esophageal clearance. Even 20 to 30 minutes of chewing sugar-free gum after eating can noticeably reduce that burning feeling.
Loosen Tight Clothing
This sounds almost too simple, but tight waistbands, belts, and shapewear compress your abdomen and push stomach contents upward. If you’re mid-episode, unbuttoning your pants or changing into something loose can reduce the mechanical pressure driving acid into your esophagus. It won’t cure the problem, but it removes one force making it worse.
Stop the Triggers That Got You Here
Certain foods and drinks directly weaken the muscular valve between your stomach and esophagus, the same valve that’s supposed to keep acid from rising. High-fat meals, alcohol, chocolate, and carbonated beverages all reduce that valve’s pressure, giving acid an easier path upward. Spicy foods and citrus don’t necessarily weaken the valve, but they irritate tissue that’s already inflamed, amplifying the burn.
If you just ate something from that list and you’re now paying for it, you can’t undo the meal, but you can avoid piling on. Skip the after-dinner drink. Don’t have a carbonated beverage to “settle your stomach.” And if it’s close to bedtime, try to stay upright for at least two to three hours before lying down. Eating within two hours of sleep is one of the most reliable triggers for nighttime heartburn.
Ginger Tea May Help Mild Episodes
Ginger has some clinical support for easing upper digestive discomfort. A systematic review of clinical trials found that ginger extract speeds up gastric motility, meaning it helps your stomach empty faster. Since a full, slow-moving stomach is more likely to push acid upward, faster emptying can reduce reflux. Trials used doses equivalent to about 2 grams of fresh ginger root twice daily and showed improvement in symptoms like fullness, bloating, and nausea.
For a quick version, steep a few thin slices of fresh ginger in hot water for five to ten minutes. It’s worth noting that ginger can occasionally cause mild heartburn on its own in some people, so if it doesn’t help, don’t force it.
Why PPIs Won’t Help Right Now
If you’ve heard that proton pump inhibitors like omeprazole (Prilosec) or esomeprazole (Nexium) are the strongest acid-reducing medications available, that’s true. But they won’t help you tonight. PPIs are prodrugs, meaning they need to be activated by acid inside specific stomach cells before they work, and that activation process is tied to meal timing. Their onset is significantly slower than antacids or famotidine, and they’re designed for daily use over weeks, not single-dose emergencies. Current gastroenterology guidelines recommend PPIs as a 4-to-8-week course for people with ongoing reflux disease, not for occasional bad nights.
If you’re reaching for antacids more than twice a week, or your heartburn has persisted for several weeks, a PPI regimen may be appropriate, but that’s a conversation to have with a provider who can assess what’s going on.
When Heartburn Might Not Be Heartburn
Bad heartburn and a heart attack can feel disturbingly similar. Even experienced doctors sometimes can’t tell them apart without testing. Typical heartburn burns in the chest, usually follows a meal, gets worse lying down, improves with antacids, and may bring a sour taste into your mouth.
Heart attack symptoms overlap with some of those, but also include pressure or squeezing in the chest that radiates to the neck, jaw, or arms, along with shortness of breath, cold sweats, sudden dizziness, or unusual fatigue. Women are more likely than men to experience jaw or back pain, nausea, and shortness of breath rather than classic crushing chest pain. If your symptoms include any of those features, or if an antacid doesn’t touch the pain, treat it as a medical emergency.