Medication for Acid Reflux: the FACTS

You might be wondering if medicaments for acid reflux are really effective, when the priority should be the eradication of the real cause of your medical condition and if the respite that is temporary really compensates for the side effects. After all, drugs and medication for acid reflux are readily available. Adverts show them, they are sold over the counter, and most doctors happily prescribe them on the basis that the searing pain of heartburn will immediately cease.

Usually, after swallowing, the LES or lower esophageal sphincter opens to let food pass to the stomach and then shuts to stop acid from returning into the esophagus. Heartburn, also known as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease), comes about when the valve in the esophagus (the LES) loses its strength and instead of blocking in the other direction, lets stomach content go back into the esophagus. Acid reflux patients experience a particular burning feeling under the breastbone, often coming at night. It is this backward flow of acid coming from this acid reflux and resulting in a burning sensation that is called heartburn.

Acid reflux is a dangerous condition requiring immediate diagnosis and treatment. If neglected, acid reflux can badly damage the lining of the esophagus causing chronic inflammation and possibly even cancer of the esophagus. Persistent acid reflux with its common symptoms of heartburn can be distressing and painful enough to handicap your daily activities and significantly impact the esophagus.

Acid reflux medicaments are not necessarily the best remedy, even if they appear to be the most readily available treatment for heartburn. There are four principal sets of acid reflux medicaments for use with acid reflux:

1. Antacids are available in a variety of forms: liquid to drink, tablets to chew, chewing gum itself and so on. Their effect is from neutralizing acid in the esophagus and lasts for up to a few hours.

2. Alginates "wrap up " the stomach contents and lessen reflux.

3. H2-receptor antagonists arrest your gastric system by pretending to produce stomach acid. Beginning 30 to 60 minutes after you take them, their effect lasts up to 12 hours.

4. PPI (Proton pump inhibitors) inhibit the cells in the stomach releasing the stomach acid.

These medicaments all have a common element, even if they vary in the way in which they work, as well as for their duration and effect:

1. They are of temporary effect. Acid reflux is complicated, being created by a group of factors of the environment, lifestyle and diet. However, most acid reflux medicaments focus on treating the immediate short-term causes of acid reflux, so they only bring temporary relief and sidestep the real causes of heartburn.

2. Long-term use of these drugs can also provoke a number of different secondary effects. PPI therapy is usually more harmful than good concerning secondary effects. Amongst the most frequent ones are bad headaches and diarrhea, and PPI has also been pointed to in cases of osteoporosis. The continual intake of antacids over time can heighten the damage from acid reflux: gastric acid is required for reasons of sound immunity and digestion and abuse of antacids harms both aspects.

Medication therapy for acid reflux is based on the classical approach that compared to the holistic approach does not look after the body while eradicating the symptoms of the disease. For this reason, most medications for GERD will not do more than give temporary relief amidst a host of side effects. On the other hand, alternative treatments such as homeopathic solutions, herbal remedies, changes in lifestyle and diet, and detoxification, will solve the internal cause of acid reflux to safely and effectively stop it from happening again.

By: Jeff Martin

Jeff Martin is a certified nutritionist and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, Heartburn No More . To Learn More About Acid Reflux Medication Visit: Acid Reflux Medication

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