When acid reflux hits, you can usually bring it under control within minutes by neutralizing the acid, repositioning your body, and removing whatever triggered it. Most attacks respond well to a combination of over-the-counter remedies and simple physical adjustments you can do right where you are.
Take an Antacid or Alginate
The fastest way to stop an active reflux attack is to neutralize the acid directly. Chewable antacids (calcium carbonate or magnesium hydroxide tablets) work within minutes by chemically neutralizing stomach acid on contact. The relief is quick but tends to wear off relatively fast.
If you have an alginate-based product on hand, it works differently and can be especially helpful. Alginates mix with stomach acid to form a gel-like raft that floats on top of your stomach contents, physically blocking acid from rising into your esophagus. They begin working right away and can be taken with a meal or immediately after. You’ll find these sold alongside traditional antacids at most pharmacies.
H2 blockers like famotidine take about an hour to kick in, so they’re less useful for immediate relief but will keep symptoms from returning over the next several hours. Taking an antacid now and an H2 blocker alongside it gives you both fast and sustained coverage.
Stand Up and Loosen Your Clothing
Gravity is your ally during a reflux attack. If you’re lying down, sit or stand up immediately. This alone can reduce the amount of acid reaching your esophagus. Avoid bending at the waist, which compresses your stomach and pushes acid upward.
If you’re wearing a tight belt, fitted waistband, or anything snug around your midsection, loosen it now. Tight clothing increases pressure inside your abdomen, which forces stomach contents toward your esophagus. Unbuckling a belt or switching to looser pants can make a noticeable difference within minutes.
Try Baking Soda in Water
If you don’t have antacids available, dissolving half a teaspoon of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) in a full glass of cold water works as a makeshift acid neutralizer. It’s not as pleasant-tasting as a flavored antacid, but it does the job. Don’t exceed five teaspoons in a day, and don’t use this as a regular solution for more than two weeks.
A few important caveats: baking soda is very high in sodium, so it’s a poor 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 medications, because it can interfere with how they’re absorbed. And avoid washing it down with milk, which can increase side effects.
Chew Sugar-Free Gum
This one sounds too simple to work, but the science is solid. Chewing gum roughly doubles your saliva production, and that extra saliva washes acid back down out of your esophagus. In a study from the University of Dundee, when participants doubled their saliva flow by chewing gum, esophageal acid clearance time dropped from nearly 7 minutes to about 2.3 minutes. That’s a meaningful difference when you’re in the middle of an attack.
Any sugar-free gum will work. Avoid peppermint-flavored varieties, though, since peppermint can relax the valve between your stomach and esophagus, potentially making things worse.
Use Diaphragmatic Breathing
Deep belly breathing can help during an attack by engaging the diaphragm, the muscle that wraps around the area where your esophagus meets your stomach. Place both hands on your abdomen, just over your belly button. Breathe in slowly through your nose, focusing on expanding your stomach and rib cage rather than your chest. Breathe out gently, tightening your abdominal muscles slightly as you exhale. Repeat this for three to five minutes.
Keep your shoulders relaxed and breathe slowly. You’re not trying to take huge gulps of air. The goal is rhythmic, controlled belly breathing that activates the diaphragm and helps support the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscular ring that’s supposed to keep acid in your stomach.
Stop Eating and Identify the Trigger
If your reflux attack started during or shortly after a meal, stop eating. Adding more food to an already irritated stomach prolongs the episode. Some of the most reliable trigger foods cause reflux through a specific mechanism: they relax the lower esophageal sphincter, giving acid an easy path upward. Chocolate is a common offender because it contains caffeine, fat, and theobromine, all three of which relax that valve. Citrus, tomato-based foods, alcohol, coffee, and fatty or fried foods are other frequent culprand.
You don’t need to eliminate all of these permanently, but knowing which ones triggered your current episode helps you avoid the same situation next time.
Position Yourself Correctly if Lying Down
If you’re dealing with reflux at night or need to lie down, your position matters significantly. Lie on your left side rather than your right. This works because of how your stomach is shaped: when you’re on your left side, gravity and the natural angle between your stomach and esophagus work together to keep acid pooled away from the opening to your esophagus. Lying on your right side does the opposite, making it easier for acid to escape.
Elevating your head and upper body also helps. Propping up the head of your bed by about six inches (using blocks under the bed frame or a wedge pillow) is more effective than simply stacking regular pillows, which tend to bend you at the waist and can actually increase abdominal pressure.
When Chest Pain Might Not Be Reflux
Heartburn and heart attacks can feel remarkably similar. Even experienced physicians sometimes can’t distinguish them based on symptoms alone. Typical reflux produces a burning sensation in the chest, often after eating or while lying down, and it usually responds to antacids. It may come with a sour taste or a small amount of regurgitation.
Heart attack symptoms are more likely to involve pressure, tightness, or a squeezing sensation that spreads to your neck, jaw, or back. Shortness of breath, cold sweat, sudden dizziness, and unusual fatigue are red flags. Women are more likely than men to experience jaw or back pain, nausea, and shortness of breath rather than classic chest pressure. If you have persistent chest pain and aren’t sure it’s heartburn, call 911. This is not a situation where it’s worth guessing wrong.