Hi @gerdboss, great question! Heartburn is a burning sensation in the tummy accompanied by reflux of undigested food/sour fluid from the stomach. It has many possible causes and can often be multifactorial, requiring the involvement of specialists to nail down the contributing causes. Contributing factors include obesity, tight clothing, and chronic alcohol consumption. There are some over the counter (OTC) remedies for this symptom like Gaviscon, but if this is something you experience I would recommend seeing a GP to have a detailed discussion and examination for what could be the root cause and allay your concerns, as some patients may require tests for potential reversible causes of GERD to guide their management. Hope this helps! If you have any further questions or would like to have a detailed discussion about possible causes and what to do next, feel free to connect with me via the DoctorWorld application for a teleconsultation.

Hi @briantoh this is an interesting question. The best way is to sneeze into a tissue, throw that away, and then wash your hands immediately. Some individuals like to gradually fold and re-use their tissues eventually resulting in a complicated origami piece with mucus leaking out onto their hands. That defeats the purpose of sneezing into the tissue to avoid getting infectious mucus onto your hands. Of course those buggers have a tendency to sneak up on people. If you get caught by surprise and empty-handed (with no tissue), the Centers for Disease Control and prevention (CDC - an esteemed authority on infection control) recommends to sneeze or cough into your upper sleeve instead. Here is a reliable resource with some further details: https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/etiquette/coughing_sneezing.html Hope this helps!