Drugs To Prevent Heartburn And Their Side Effects!

Do you know that heartburn is also called as pyrosis?

heartburn11This painful or burning sensation in the esophagus is caused by the reflux of blood through defective heart valves.

Often the pain starts in the chest and gradually spread to the neck, throat, or angle of the jaw.

Sometimes, heartburn can also cause chronic cough and asthma attack.

Some people are confused that heartburn makes harm to the heart.

But, the fact is it has nothing to do with the heart.

Combating from heartburn:

In order to combat from heartburn, you need to avoid some foods which have chemicals that can trigger acid reflux. Some of the foods which trigger acid reflux include: chocolate, peppermints, tomatoes, and the products that are made from tomatoes because they lessen the chance of stomach acid refluxing into the esophagus and causing heartburn and acid reflux.

The acid reducers which are found in the market are called histamine receptor blockers. Proton-Pump Inhibitors or PPIs are considered as effective in inhibiting the acid production within your stomach and prevent excess stomach acids from refluxing into the esophagus. They treat the symptoms of GERD and other conditions caused by excess stomach acid.

Heartburn drugs:
There are different forms of heartburn drugs that can be taken for effective relief. Each one will react in a different way. The effect will vary from individual-to-individual.

Mild forms of heartburn can be treated with antacids. Some of the strong forms of antacids include Mylanta II, Maalox II and Riopan. Most of the people prefer to take liquid forms of antacids than that of capsule forms. Whatever type of antacid you take, they need to be taken 30-60 minutes after eating the meals and before going to bed.

The two commonly prescribed drugs for heartburn Nexium and Prilosec can decrease the problem. Many of the heartburn drugs seem okay for heart. Losec and Nexium are also used to treat and prevent ulcers in the stomach and small intestine.

Some other heartburn drugs like prokinetic or motility have the ability to close the lower esophageal sphincter muscle more tightly. Using some other drug therapies like Omepraxole or Lansoprazole can reduce the inflammation of esophagus very quickly. These drugs are proven as effective in reducing acid reflux thus preventing heartburn.

H2 blockers also called as H2 receptor antagonists can temporarily stop the production of acid. Histamine receptors can cause the acid production in your body. But, H2 blockers block the signals from the histamine receptor that stimulate the acid production. Tagamet, Zantac, and Pepcid are the most effective H2 blockers.

PPIs are the most powerful and will give the long-lasting reduction of acid. These inhibitors can block the proton pump inside the stomach cells.

If you want to change your drug routine, you should talk with your doctor before making changes, because acid reflux can cause other complications if left untreated.

Surgery to prevent heartburn:
Surgery is considered for those whose heartburn symptoms don’t respond to other heartburn drugs. About 25 percent of people who have acid reflux require the surgery. In this procedure, therapist use pencil-thin cameras to see a detailed picture inside the body.

From there, he starts inserting some other tiny instruments through small openings into the body to surgically correct the acid reflux disorder. With this, it creates a newer and more ordered esophageal valve. Not everyone requires this surgery.

In the case if your heartburn won’t respond to medications, then you can consider this option.

Chewing a gum after meal can prevent heartburn:
Chewing a gum can give great relief from heartburn. After the meal plan, chew a sugar free gum for 30 minutes. Usually the acid levels will significantly lower after chewing the gum. This will be beneficial up to three hours after chewing the gum.

The effective option is chewing antacid gums will be greatly beneficial than chewing tablets.

Effects of heartburn medications:

Heartburn drugs can cause diarrhea:
Some of the popular heartburn medications can cause serious infectious diarrhea. The sufferers who take PPIs and H2 blockers are at a greater risk of developing diarrhea. PPIs which cause heartburn include Prilosec, Prevacid, protonix, aciphex, and Nexium. H2 blockers include axid, pepcid and zantac.

Heartburn drugs on your heart:
Don’t be afraid that heartburn drugs can cause heart problems. The above mentioned popular drugs do not cause any heart problems. Instead of this, the patients who took the drugs actually had a lower incidence of heart problems. Those who consider surgery look younger and healthier than those treated with drugs.

But, the long-term use of the drugs can increase the risk of heart attacks, heart failure and heart-related sudden death in patients taking the drugs.

Heartburn drugs can cause hip fractures:
Long-term use of PPIs can cause an increased risk of hip fracture. Hip fracture is a result of weak bones. It is a common condition in 2- percent of the cases. This condition will be very serious if you use higher dosages more than a year.

In order to reduce the risk of hip fracture, talk with your doctor about the solution. He can suggest adding more calcium in your diet or taking supplements.

Reducing acid production permanently can cause damage to your heart. According to the studies, stopping acid production can cause problems with calcium absorption and increased incidences of osteoporosis and pneumonia. But, this happens only in rare conditions. If you experience difficulty while swallowing or you are loosing weight in addition to the heartburn then, these can be the signs of esophageal cancer.