Looking for Heartburn Treatment? - Discover The Various Ways on How to Get Rid Of Heartburn

Acid reflux relief is possible using Heartburn Treatment if one have the right knowledge of how to get rid of heartburn. Stopping heartburn may not be possible for some people by using one single treatment option as you will soon discover from this article. There are several methods for treating heartburn, these include natural home remedies, heartburn medicine using antacids, over-the-counter drugs and prescription drugs, and surgery. The problem is that many people don't know exactly what will work for them and when to seek treatment early hence, it developed until it can't be reverse except with the last resort which is surgery.


It is also good to know first why people suffer from heartburn. Experience and research have taught me that It's not necessarily because of excess hydrochloric acid secreted in the stomach. Infact, stomach acid is good for you! It's due to the malfunctioning of the LES muscle between the stomach and the esophagus that's supposed to prevent the flow of stomach acidic content back into the esophagus. That's why some people with excess acid in their stomach may not suffer heartburn. Why? Because their LES is functioning well. It's therefore a first priority that you know what causes your heartburn and LES to malfunction for proper treatment. Below are the available treatment options for heartburn.

1. Natural Heartburn Treatment

 

The first step to get rid of heartburn after identifying your heartburn triggers is using natural home remedies. Various home remedies include changing your diet to avoid heartburn food triggers, taking natural products like apple cidar vinegar, baking soda, honey, ginger; and changing certain lifestyle such as stop smoking and losing few pounds of fat if over weight.

2. Use of Medicine for Heartburn Treatment

 

At what point do you need to decide using medicine to treat your heartburn? The key is seeing your doctor if you are having GERD symptoms frequently or more that two times in a week. Seeing your doctor will eliminate other possible causes of heartburn such as hietal hernia, stomach ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome and others thus, putting your mind at ease. It will also help you to discuss and understand each medication type, their side effects, and duration of use before taking any. If however, you result to self medication, you are going to take over-the-counter (OTC) heartburn medicine from your local pharmacist, instead of prescription medicine which are usually in high doses. Consequently, you should read and know about the drug first from the enclose drug leaflet. The various medicines available for heartburn treatment are antacids, H2 blockers and PPIs.

• Antacids

The antacids neutralize stomach acid in other to produce heartburn relief caused by indigestion or GERD. Some, such as Pepto-Bismol coat the esophagus acting as a barrier between the lining of the esophagus and stomach acid. The antacids are known to provide instant heartburn relief from occasional and mild symptoms. Their effect is usually short lived about 30 minutes to 2 hours. They may be liquid (in the form of suspension) or solid which are chewable. The liquid ones are known to work faster than tablets form. Examples of antacids include Gaviscon, Alka-Seltzer, Polygel, Gelusil, Milk of Magnesia, Maalox, and Pepto-Bismo.

• Histamine receptor antagonist (HRA) or H2 blocker

The H2 blocker exist as OTC and prescription medicines. They block the effect of histamine, a chemical in the body that stimulates the production of acid in the stomach after meal. Hence H2 blockers are best taken 30 minutes before food. They may also be taken when going to bed to prevent night heartburn. Examples of H2 blockers include Axid, Zantac, Tagamet and pepcid.

• Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs)

The PPIs also exist as OTC and prescription medicines in high doses. PPIs neutralize the action of the active enzymes in some parietal cells in the stomach responsible for acid production. They are the most effective medication use for heartburn treatment that is available. In terms of reduction of stomach acid secretion, their effect last longer - over 24 hours. Example of OTC PPIs include Zegerid®), Prevacid® and Prilosec®; while those prescribe in higher doses include Nexium, Protonix, and Aciphex.

3. Surgery

 

The last resort for heartburn treatment is surgery however, it depends on your condition and health status. Your doctor will evaluate you to decide if this is safe for you. Trying to figure out which heartburn treatment option is safe for you? It depends on your condition and body. Know that what work for me may not work for you. Additionally each of the medications discussed above may produce side effects depending on the individual. Also, either H2 blocker or PPI is usually combine with an antacid for effectiveness in acid reflux treatment.

As mentioned earlier, the medications may not be an effective treatment if not combine with some form of natural remedies such as  changing your diet to avoid heartburn food triggers, taking natural products like apple cidar vinegar, baking soda, honey, ginger; and changing certain lifestyle such as stop smoking and losing few pounds of fat if over weight.

Read more about heartburn treatment and home remedies for heartburn.

Heartburn Medicine for Acid Reflux Treatment? Types of Over-the-Counter drugs and What you should know about them.

Varieties of heartburn medicine for acid reflux treatment exist to get fast heartburn relief when the
pains starts with the long run motive of getting cured. From mild to severe cases of heartburn your doctor or pharmacist may have prescribed the drugs for you or you may have bought it at your local pharmacy shop as over-the-counter medication for heartburn treatment. What you may not have known is that there are several types of heartburn medicines for different degree and the duration of heartburn. You may not have also understand how this medications work, their general effect on your gastrointestinal tract or body system. In this article you will find out the types and know more about them, which I believe will help you to seek for better options for curing your heartburn.

Frequent and severe heartburn is the most common manifestation of acid reflux, indigestion and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and may also be a sign of other underlying disease such as peptic ulcer disease (PUD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), hiatal hernia and others. So it is best to seek the advice of a doctor before resulting to taking heartburn medicine. Normally the first option to curing heartburn starts from using home remedies for heartburn which include lifestyle changes, diet switch and natural remedies.

Types of OTC medicine use to treat occassional and mild heartburn are: Antacids, histamine
receptor antagonist (HRA) OTC, and the proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) OTC.

These medications are classified in order of their effectiveness ranging from the antacids to the PPI which are most effective, but with more side effect. They are  used to neutralize or reduce the stomach acid (thus, also called Acid Reducers) and prevent their build up in other to curb their backing up into the food pipe - esophagus through the lower esophagal sphincter (LES), where they usually cause the heartburn pain.

Heartburn Medicine: Group 1 - Antacids.

 

The antacids are known to provide instant relief from occassional and mild heartburn. Their effect is usually short lived about 30 minutes to 2 hours. They may be liquid (in the form of suspension) or solid which are chewable however, the liquid work faster than tablets form. The antacids neutralize stomach acid in other to produce heartburn relief caused by indigestion or GERD. Some, such as Pepto-Bismol coat the esophagus acting as a barrier between the lining of the esophagus and stomach acid.

They don't usually cause serious side effects (contraindications) but they can occur when taken in
excess, overuse or abuse. Side effect usually include diarrhea, stomach cramps, changes in bowel movement and others depending on your body system. Therefore, you should take antacids exactly as directed by your doctor or by following the label on the package.

Examples of antacids include:

• Gaviscon

• Alka-Seltzer

• Polygel

• Gelusil

• Milk of Magnesia

• Maalox

• Pepto-Bismol.

 

Heartburn Medicine: Group 2 - Histamine receptor antagonist (HRA) OTC.

 

Histamine receptor antagonist (HRA) OTC or H2 blocker function to reduce stomach acid hence also classified as acid reducers. Histamine is a chemical in the body that is involve in proper digestion of food. It stimulates the production of acid after meal, consequently H2 blocker are taken to suppress their effect thereby reducing the quantity of acid produce in the stomach.

H2 blocker can actually relief heartburn and help cure reflux but this is most likely to occur if you have never treated heartburn before and it's still in the mild case. At bedtime, they can be taken to reduce night time stomach acid production and heartburn.

Examples of HRA OTC are:

• Axid AR

• Zantac 75

• Tagamet HB

• pepcid AC

Their side effects may include headache, abdominal discomfort and pain, diarhea, flatulence (gas), and dizziness.

Heartburn Medicine: Group 3 - Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) OTC.

PPIs OTC med work by blocking and reducing the production of stomach acid. Their action as stomach acid reducers is more pronounced and last longer than others. They are the most effective medication available in terms of reduction in stomach acid secretion.

Some of the PPIs that are available at your local medicine store which the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved as over-the-counter drugs in treating frequent or severe heartburn and acid reflux symptoms occurring more than 2 times in a week are:

• Prevacid 24HR (lansoprazole),

• Prilosec OTC (omeprazole), 

• Zegerid OTC (omeprazole and sodium bicarbonate). 

They are intended to be taken in not more than a period of 14 days (2 weeks) and in lower doses; and not more than 3 times a year. The best time to take PPIs is usually an hour before meal time. 

Their side effect can also include headache, bloating (feeling of being full), constipation, diarrhea, nausea, abdominal pain, flatulence, and very high risk of bacterial infection and bone fracture.

  

What we have learn about OTC medication use in treating acid relux

The OTC first regime of treatment of heartburn due to acid reflux, indigestion or GERD using medication is antacids. If symptoms persist, H2 blockers are use for mild and occasional cases, then progress to using PPI OTC for severe cases.

All these types of medication poses different side effects. Infact, people with kidney disease are advice not to take antacid except by doctor recommendation.

A safer way of getting rid of heartburn at the onset without side effect is by using simple home remedies for heartburn which include lifestyle change, diet switch, losing weight and stop smoking.

Please contact your doctor if you must use heartburn medicine to treat your acid reflux.