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Acid reflux

250 Gastroenterology & Hepatology doctors in Hong Kong →

Also known as: Heartburn · Gastro-oesophageal reflux ·

The main symptom of acid reflux is a burning sensation in the middle of the chest, with a sour taste from stomach acid, and sometimes a persistent cough, hoarse voice, bad breath and nausea; it typically worsens after eating, when lying flat or bending forward. Most cases start with diet and lifestyle plus antacids from a pharmacy. But the source of chest pain is not something to judge for yourself — pain that does not go away, or that comes with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or breathlessness, needs immediate help.

Hong Kong has 250 registered Gastroenterology & Hepatology doctors.

Source: Medical Council of Hong Kong register · read 2026-09-20

ok.med editorial team ·
Compiled by the editorial team from the sources listed below. Not reviewed by an individual doctor.

What are the symptoms of acid reflux?

The NHS describes the main symptoms as a burning sensation in the middle of the chest and an unpleasant sour taste from stomach acid, with a persistent cough, hoarse voice, bad breath and nausea also possible.

The same material notes that symptoms often worsen after eating, when lying flat or when bending forward. That timing is itself a clue: chest discomfort with a clear relationship to posture and meals fits reflux, whereas chest pain that tracks exertion, or arrives suddenly with no such pattern, is a different matter — which the next section covers.

The cough and the hoarse voice are worth noting because neither looks like a stomach problem. A long-standing unexplained cough or hoarseness is sometimes investigated as an airway or throat complaint first; where burning and a sour taste are also present, that is worth mentioning to the doctor.

When is burning chest pain not the stomach?

This is the most important section on the page. The NHS states both that most chest pain is not caused by a heart problem, with indigestion and heartburn among the common causes, and — plainly — that you should not self-diagnose. Both halves need to be held together.

The circumstances it lists for calling the emergency services at once:

  • Sudden chest pain or discomfort that does not go away, with pressure or burning
  • Pain spreading to the arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back
  • Chest pain together with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or breathlessness

These point to a possible heart attack needing urgent hospital treatment.

It is worth pointing out that “burning” appears in both descriptions. That is precisely why the sensation alone cannot settle the question: burning does not rule out the heart, and it is pain spreading to the jaw or back, or coming with sweating and breathlessness, that moves the situation into the emergency category.

In Hong Kong the hesitation is usually not about whether to go but about sitting in A&E for hours. That is worth clearing up: Hospital Authority emergency departments run a triage system in which the order of treatment follows the patient’s condition, not the time of registration. A genuinely critical case does not wait at the back of the queue. Triage runs across five categories — critical, emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent — with critical patients treated immediately.

Medical Council of Hong Kong register

250 Gastroenterology & Hepatology doctors in Hong Kong

All 250 ›

The doctors below are listed from the Medical Council of Hong Kong register. This is not a recommendation, and says nothing about outcomes for this condition. Ask the doctor directly.

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What brings it on?

The NHS separates the triggers into two groups: on the dietary side coffee, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate and fatty or spicy food; on the bodily and medicinal side being overweight, smoking, pregnancy, stress, certain medicines such as ibuprofen, hiatus hernia, stomach ulcers and bacterial infection of the stomach.

The point about medicines deserves separate mention. Ibuprofen is a common painkiller easily bought over the counter; if stomach symptoms become more noticeable while taking it, that is something to raise with a doctor or pharmacist. The NHS also states that prescribed medicines should not be stopped without medical advice.

Common triggers, by kind
KindWhatWhat can be done
DietCoffee, tomatoes, alcohol, chocolate, fatty or spicy foodIdentify your own triggers and avoid those; no need to cut everything at once
Weight and habitsExcess weight, smoking, drinking too much, stressThese are changeable, and are where the self-help measures focus
MedicinesCertain medicines, such as ibuprofenTell the doctor; do not stop prescribed medicine on your own
Bodily conditionsPregnancy, hiatus hernia, stomach ulcer, bacterial stomach infectionFor a doctor to assess; some need tests to establish

What helps without a prescription?

The NHS lists things to try and things to avoid. Several concern timing and posture, because the symptoms themselves are tied to lying flat and to when you eat.

Raising the head of the bed is often misread as adding pillows. They are not the same: extra pillows lift only the head and can bend the body in a way that increases pressure on the abdomen. What the NHS describes is raising the head of the bed itself — putting wood or bricks under the legs — so the whole upper body sits on a slope.

Nor is it necessary to cut everything on the dietary list at once. Triggers differ between people, and the practical approach is to observe them one at a time: note what was eaten before symptoms appeared and how long after. A few weeks usually reveals the pattern — and that record is equally useful at a consultation.

Worth trying, and worth avoiding
DirectionWhatWhy it helps
Worth tryingSmaller, more frequent mealsLess load after each meal
Worth tryingLosing weight if overweightExcess weight is one of the listed triggers
Worth tryingRaising the head of the bed by 10 to 20 centimetresSymptoms worsen when lying flat
Worth avoidingEating within three to four hours of bedEating then lying down is the combination most likely to bring it on
Worth avoidingTight waistbandsThey add pressure on the abdomen
Worth avoidingSmoking and drinking too much alcoholBoth are listed triggers

At a glance

Telling burning chest pain apart: discom

Telling burning chest pain apart: discomfort tied to meals and posture, worse lying flat or bending forward, fits acid reflux; chest pain that does not go away, spreads to the arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or breathlessness means calling 999. Hospital Authority emergency departments triage by condition, not by time of registration, and critical patients are treated immediately.
Sources: NHS and the Hospital Authority · Read the original ›

What can a pharmacy and a doctor each offer?

The NHS explains that a pharmacist can suggest antacids or alginates to relieve symptoms, noting they work better taken with food. The doctor’s layer involves prescription medicines and tests.

On the doctor’s side, it notes that proton pump inhibitors are typically prescribed for four to eight weeks, and that where those do not work, an H2 receptor antagonist may be tried instead. These are prescription matters to be decided by a doctor; this page offers no medication advice.

As to tests, it explains that where symptoms are severe and medicines have not worked, referral may follow for a gastroscopy — an examination with a camera on a tube — or for testing for bacterial infection, with surgery considered in some cases. A gastroscopy is therefore not something everyone needs; it is the step after medication has not settled things.

When should a doctor be seen?

The NHS advises seeing a doctor if lifestyle changes and pharmacy medicines are not helping, or if heartburn occurs on most days. Separately, there is a set of symptoms needing urgent attention.

It lists worsening symptoms, food getting stuck in the throat, frequent vomiting and unexplained weight loss as reasons to seek urgent help. What these share is that they have moved beyond discomfort — obstructed swallowing and unexplained weight loss are signals to establish the cause rather than to carry on self-medicating.

This is also why the local cancer figures are worth mentioning — not because reflux causes cancer, which the NHS material does not say and this page does not infer, but to show why those particular symptoms are taken seriously here too. Centre for Health Protection figures show that in 2023 stomach cancer ranked 7th among the most common cancers in Hong Kong with 1,284 new cases, and oesophageal cancer ranked 20th with 410 new cases.

What matters particularly in Hong Kong?

Two sets of local official material bear directly on this topic: how emergency departments triage, and Hong Kong’s stomach and oesophageal cancer figures. The first speaks to whether to seek help immediately for chest pain; the second to why difficulty swallowing and weight loss should not be left.

  • The Hospital Authority states that in emergency departments the order in which patients are treated follows the patient’s condition rather than the time of registration, with triage across five categories: critical, emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent.Hospital Authority: accident and emergency services · read · (source)
  • The Hospital Authority’s service targets are immediate treatment for critical patients, 95% of emergency patients seen within 15 minutes, and 90% of urgent patients within 30 minutes.Hospital Authority: accident and emergency services · read · (source)
  • Centre for Health Protection figures show that in 2023 stomach cancer ranked 7th among the most common cancers in Hong Kong, making up 3.4% of all new cancer cases, with 1,284 new cases — 736 in men and 548 in women, a ratio of about 1.3 to 1.Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health: stomach cancer · read · (source)
  • Centre for Health Protection figures show that in 2023 oesophageal cancer ranked 20th among the most common cancers in Hong Kong, making up 1.1% of all new cancer cases, with 410 new cases — 336 in men and 74 in women.Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health: oesophageal cancer · read · (source)

When is immediate help needed?

  • Sudden chest pain or discomfort that does not go away, with pressure, burning, or pain spreading to the arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back — call 999 immediately.
  • Chest pain together with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or breathlessness — call 999 immediately.
  • Food getting stuck in the throat, or difficulty swallowing.
  • Frequent vomiting.
  • Unexplained weight loss.
  • Symptoms getting worse, or still occurring on most days despite lifestyle changes and pharmacy medicines.

By district

Which districts have Gastroenterology & Hepatology doctors?

Frequently asked questions

How do I tell stomach from heart?
Not by the sensation alone — the NHS states plainly that you should not self-diagnose. It also says most chest pain is not a heart problem and that indigestion and heartburn are common causes; but pain that does not go away, spreads to the arm, neck, jaw, stomach or back, or comes with sweating, nausea, light-headedness or breathlessness means calling 999 immediately.
Is it worth going to A&E if the wait is long?
The Hospital Authority states that priority in A&E follows the patient’s condition, not the time of registration. Critical patients are treated immediately, with targets of 95% of emergency patients within 15 minutes and 90% of urgent patients within 30 minutes. A genuinely critical case does not wait at the back of the queue.
Do I need a gastroscopy?
Not everyone does. The NHS describes gastroscopy as a step that follows severe symptoms not settled by medicines, at which point testing for bacterial infection may also happen. Whether it is needed is for a doctor to assess.
Do extra pillows help?
What the NHS describes is raising the head of the bed itself by 10 to 20 centimetres, for instance with wood or bricks under the legs — not adding pillows. Extra pillows lift only the head and can bend the body in a way that adds pressure on the abdomen.
Do I have to give up coffee and spicy food entirely?
Triggers differ between people. The NHS advises avoiding the foods and drinks that bring on your own symptoms, rather than cutting everything on the list. Noting what was eaten before symptoms appeared usually reveals the pattern within a few weeks.
Can painkillers make it worse?
The NHS lists certain medicines among the causes, giving ibuprofen as an example. If stomach symptoms become more noticeable while taking one, tell a doctor or pharmacist — but the NHS also says prescribed medicines should not be stopped without medical advice.

Sources

  1. NHS: heartburn and acid reflux — symptoms, triggers, what to try and what to avoid, what a pharmacist can offer, what a doctor prescribes and for how long, and the arrangements for tests such as gastroscopy. NHS ()
  2. NHS: chest pain — when to call the emergency services, the accompanying symptoms that point to a possible heart attack, and the instruction not to self-diagnose. NHS ()
  3. Hospital Authority: accident and emergency services — the five triage categories, the rule that priority follows the condition rather than the time of registration, and the service targets for each category. Hospital Authority ()
  4. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health: stomach cancer — the 2023 ranking, case numbers and split by sex. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health ()
  5. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health: oesophageal cancer — the 2023 ranking, case numbers and split by sex. Centre for Health Protection, Department of Health ()

This page is compiled from the Hong Kong official sources listed above. It is general information only — not a diagnosis, a treatment recommendation or medical advice, and no substitute for seeing a doctor. If you are unsure or your condition changes, consult a registered doctor.