More that half the population of the world is a heartburn sufferer. In one study, more than 45% of 15,000 heartburn sufferers stated they were kept up late at night with frequent heartburn.

More than 70% of all heartburn sufferers believe they will be forced into avoiding foods, events, and making other changes for the rest of their lives to accommodate their condition.

It is a major illness affecting too many people. It can impact quality of life. When that happens, people become desperate for a cure.

The pharmaceutical and medicine companies know this. In response, they have created and sell literally thousands of acid reflux medication options promising to help manage or even cure the condition.

Before you buy up every product on the shelf, it is important that you understand each treatment option, its results, and what those truly mean for you.

Anti-Acids

This is the most common treatment used to control acid reflux and heartburn. It comes in pills, liquids, orally disintegrating tabs, tonics, and countless other forms.

As far as a medication for acid reflux, anti-acids are the cheapest and simplest to use.

Typically, anti-acids are mineral based, such as calcium or magnesium, and include a carbon ion or two. Minerals mixed with carbon have a high degree of alkalinity, the opposite of acid.

When they enter your stomach, they immediately neutralize the acid in your stomach.

This sounds like an easy answer, but it is not. The name acid reflux is a bad description of your problem. What is really happening is your food is not being digested quickly enough and pushes against the esophagus.

The pushing forces the esophagus open and the stomach contents, including digestive acid, flows in.

The acid gives you the burning feeling, but that does not mean you should try to get rid of the acid. That will not solve the problem.

In fact, acid is what digests your food so if you reduce acid then it is going to take longer to move food out of your stomach.

Furthermore, neutralized acid gives off gas which will further increase the pressure on your esophagus.

Many people choose to use anti-acids regularly, many times a day and every day. The may not feel any heartburn, but this is because they are almost completely eliminating their stomach acid.

What they do not know is they are also stopping the digestive and metabolism process. Their body cannot process food as well and many of the nutrients are going to waste.

People on a long-term chronic anti-acid regiment tend to be malnourished and suffering the side affects.

Acid Controllers

Another popular alternative to anti-acids is using acid controllers to treat heartburn. Acid controllers do just what it sounds like.

They control how much acid your stomach produces all the time, not just during meals or periods of peak acidity. They are an extended release type of medication that lasts for hours and sometimes a full day.

For a long time, acid controllers were only available as a prescription. Recently, acid controllers have been released as a acid reflux over the counter medication.

As a prescription, they were expensive. However, once they became an OTC product, the costs almost tripled for half the original prescription dosage.

The costs would be worth it if the acid controllers really worked. Controlling acid is going to give you the same result as taking an anti-acid during an acute heartburn episode.

In the long run, you are going to pay a lot of money to be malnourished and dependent on a pill for the rest of your life.

Natural Alternatives

As you can see, using a acid reflux medication is not a viable solution. As soon as you stop using the medication, your heartburn will return. This is not a cure, but a cure is possible.

The Heartburn No More program can give you the cure you need. In the e-book, you will learn how to correct the bad habits, such as eating toxic foods and promoting a reflux-free environment within your body.

After using the Heartburn No More program, you will finally be able to live acid-reflux free without the use of medications.

Technorati Tags: Acid Reflux Medications, Acid Reflux Remedies

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Acid reflux is a common disease affecting numerous patients across the world. Its symptoms include heartburn (the signature symptom of this affection), regurgitation, swallowing difficulties, dental erosion, chest pain, hoarseness, dyspepsia and asthma. The severity of the symptoms can range from mild to severe, and immediate medical attention is recommended for anyone who begins to experience any of the above more than twice per week. Leaving this condition untreated may lead to a number of more complex complications.

There are several types of acid reflux medication which can be employed to treat this affection. The most common types of drugs used in such situations are antacids, acid suppressants, proton pump inhibitors, anti-spasm drugs as well as various agents which protect the gastro-esophageal mucous lining, but other categories of drugs can be employed too if the health care professional deems it necessary.

Antacids are commonly employed to obtain relief from the milder symptoms. They are substances which inhibit the gastric acids action, and increase the bicarbonate and mucous secretion, thus improving the gastric defenses. In most cases, this type of acid reflux medication can be obtained without a prescription from any drug store.

Histamine blockers are acid suppressants – which means that they impair the production of gastric acids. They act by countering the effects of histamine, an important chemical for the gastric acid secretion process. The effect of the antihistamines may take a while to set in (up to 90 minutes) but it also lasts for prolonged periods of time, sometimes for a full 24 hours. Drugs belonging in this category are also commonly sold without a medical prescription.

Another type of acid reflux medication is the proton pump inhibitor class of drugs. These substances interact with certain cells found in the gastric walls, in order to reduce the quantities of acids secreted. However, using this type of drugs has the downside of causing certain side effects, characterized by symptoms such as headache, nausea, diarrhea and itching, and as a general rule they should be avoided if the patient is pregnant or breast-feeding.

Using drugs which protect the gastric and intestinal mucous lining can also be recommended for certain patients undergoing therapy for GERD, as these substances will generally prevent further damage to the affected tissues.

Anti-spasm drugs, another type of acid reflux medication, may prevent the gastric contents from refluxing by abating the muscular spasms. These drugs can be used to treat patients suffering from acid reflux, but they are also helpful in the case of patients experiencing non-acid reflux as well.

Technorati Tags: Acid Reflux Medications

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