If you’re suffering from heartburn, you probably just want to get some relief as quickly as you can. For many people, this means driving over to your nearest pharmacy and buying some type of over-the-counter antacid product for fast treatment of heartburn symptoms.
Antacids are usually the first choice for many people as a treatment of heartburn because they aren’t as expensive as prescriptions medications. However, they may not always give you the most effective relief. There are those who end up chewing their way through endless packages of antacids while getting only temporary respite from the pain. They just aren’t able to eliminate their symptoms for good.
That’s because common antacids aren’t effective at treating the most serious kinds of heartburn. People who are suffering from GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) and not just an everyday case of heartburn won’t find much relief with Rolaids or Tums.
As a note of caution, if you’ve been using antacids as a treatment of heartburn for quite some time, you should be aware of the potential side effects. These can include diarrhea and kidney problems resulting from the magnesium content of most of these products.
A more promising pharmaceutical treatment you might want to give a try is an H2 blocker. H2 blockers are also available over the counter, but they last somewhat longer than a standard antacid. Their main disadvantage is that it takes awhile before they start working, up to half an hour or more, unlike the instant heartburn relief that antacids provide.
H2 blockers are effective because they reduce the amount of acid in the stomach. However, like most medications, they can have side effects. These can include vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, or constipation. If you’ve been diagnosed with GERD, H2 blockers probably aren’t the medication for you, since they aren’t a good treatment of heartburn symptoms that are more severe.
The best option for GERD sufferers might be to consider using proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). This treatment doesn’t merely reduce the production of acid in your stomach, it stops it in its tracks. For those who live with the painful symptoms of GERD, proton pump inhibitors provide ongoing relief from heartburn symptoms.
However, some unusual problems have surfaced regarding the use of this treatment of heartburn. Proton pump inhibitors were linked to hip fractures in a paper published in the December 2006 Journal of the American Medical Association. As well, they’ve been associated with an elevated risk of contracting pneumonia.
Even though you might require medication to get some heartburn relief, it’s essential that you make a knowledgeable decision regarding treatment of heartburn before taking any remedy that might have a negative effect. And if your heartburn symptoms are showing up on a regular basis, you should check with your doctor to make sure there aren’t any underlying causes.