Indigestion

Indigestion (dyspepsia) is a term applied to the group of symptoms consequent upon morbid conditions of the stomach (whether due to disease of that organ itself or produced as a secondary result of mischief affecting other parts of the body).

The term is sometimes restricted to those cases in which gastric symptoms appear to be associated with mere disturbance of the functions of the stomach, apart from any actual lesion or any definitely characterised organic disease. This latter use of the term includes instances in which the food is habitually swallowed without being properly masticated, or in which the amount of food is insufficient or excessive, or when it is of an indigestible character, or when the processes of digestion are interfered with as the result of hurried and irregular ingestion of food. The chief symptoms are a sense of fulness or sinking in the stomach, derangements of appetite, flatulence, nausea, and it may be actual vomiting. In some cases there is a frequent regurgitation of clear fluid from the stomach into the mouth; to this symptom the term pyrosis or materbrash is applied. The treatment of indigestion consists mainly in regulating the times of taking food and the kinds of food taken. Attention to the habits of the patient, as regards exercise and the action of the bowels, is often required.