Acid reflux disease is a common ailment with symptoms such as nausea, sore throat, regurgitation and heartburn. These symptoms can cause discomfort to the patient and where more Chronicles can often be very painful. Acid reflux is a condition in which a copy of the contents of the stomach of a patient or "reflux" in the esophagus. As this digestive fluid is caustic, this reflux will often cause inflammation in the lining of the esophagus, which can lead to more medical problems if it is not quickly.
Fortunately, there are many natural ways, herbal, homeopathic and medicines to cure acid reflux. Doctors are often recommended medications without a prescription such as antacids that reduce acid production, or to encourage the process of digestion in other ways. Most of these drugs can be found in the supermarket or pharmacy, and may also be purchased online at sites such as Amazon.com.
Acid reflux drugs should only be used in the dose suggested in the bottle or by your health care provider and should only be used for the length of time in the same way recommended. If you want to vary the dose or the period of time, always consult with your doctor first.
Some common acid reflux antacid medications that are generally recommended are Alka-Seltzer, Mylanta, Rolaids, Maalox and Riopan. Most of these drugs use combinations of three base ingredients: magnesium, calcium and aluminium and also hydroxide or bicarbonate to neutralize the digestive acids. Some people find that these ingredients give unwanted side effects magnesium can cause diarrhea in some patients, and aluminum can cause constipation. These two ingredients are often added to the same Antacid tablets in "equal to" the side effects.
Acid reflux drugs including carbonate (Tums and Alka-2) provided with the patient additional calcium supplements, but again may have the unwanted side effect of constipation in some people.
If antacids and over-the-counter medications do not perform effectively, your doctor may prescribe other medications such as protons, which are abbreviations of Proton pump inhibitors.
PPI medications are omeprazole (found in Zegerid and Prilosec), rabeprazole (Aciphex), lansoprazole (found in Prevacid), pantoprazole (Protonix), and esomeprazole (found in the ever-popular Nexium). Inhibitors Proton pump to treat the symptoms of indigestion by reducing the amount of acid produced during digestion. The common side effects of Proton pump inhibitors are pains in the back, cough, vomiting, constipation, headaches, dizziness, aches of stomach, gas, nausea and diarrhea.
The H2 Receptor antagonists are another type of medication for symptoms of acid reflux. Strengths are available in the prescription and over-the-counter, and work by reducing the acid in the stomach in the patient. Some of the H2 Receptor antagonists are cimetidine (on Tagamet), FAMOTIDINE (in Pepcid), nizatidine (Axid) and ranitidine (Zantac). The H2 Receptor antagonists tend to be effective for longer than antacids, but not effective as quickly. As the other drugs in the list, the H2 Receptor antagonists can have side effects in some patients, including headaches, vomiting, nausea, constipation, and diarrhea.
