I feel a tightness in my chest after eating

Food is the most important thing for people. We all like to eat delicious food, but sometimes we feel like we don’t want to eat, and our chest feels blocked and our qi is not flowing smoothly. According to Chinese medicine, this is because our spleen and stomach have been damaged, and the normal operation of the spleen and stomach’s qi has been disrupted. In life, we may feel chest tightness, difficulty breathing, and sometimes pain after eating. What causes this?

Esophagitis may be present

The main symptoms of esophagitis are as follows:

1. Burning or pain behind the sternum

A burning sensation or pain behind the sternum is the main symptom of this disease.

Symptoms usually occur about 1 hour after eating, and can be induced by semi-recumbent position, forward bending or strenuous exercise. They can disappear after taking acid, but can be aggravated by overheated or overly acidic food. For people with achlorhydria, the burning sensation is mainly caused by bile reflux, and taking acid is effective. The severity of the burning sensation does not necessarily correspond to the severity of the lesion. In severe esophagitis, especially in those with scarring, there may be no or only a mild burning sensation.

2. Acid Reflux

After each meal, when lying forward or sleeping in bed at night, acidic liquid or food refluxes from the stomach and esophagus into the pharynx or mouth.

This symptom often appears before the burning sensation or burning pain behind the sternum.

3. Difficulty swallowing

In the early stages, intermittent dysphagia may often occur due to secondary esophageal spasm caused by esophagitis. In the later stage, due to the formation of esophageal scarring and stricture, the burning sensation and burning pain gradually decrease and are replaced by permanent difficulty in swallowing, which may cause a feeling of blockage or pain when eating solid food.