Why heartburn medications are becoming popular?
Heartburn
medications are
highly popular nowadays; one of these medications,
Nexium, has even became the third-largest selling drug
worldwide, with sales of over $5.7 billion in 2005.
Millions of people who suffer from the distressing
symptoms of gastro esophageal reflux disease, the most
prevalent of those is undoubtedly heartburn, often use
conventional treatments to achieve relief. There are
three main explanations for this growing popularity:
1.
Continuous rise in the number of
GERD (or acid reflux) sufferers in western countries.
Approx 25 million acid reflux patients with chronic
heartburn have lived in 2006 in the
2.
GERD drugs
are heavily promoted, either by the drug companies using
commercials or by physicians who prescribe them to
patients.
3.
Those drugs are more and more
available to the consumers. Some of these drugs, that
were once available only by prescription, can be easily
purchased over-the-counter. About a decade ago the Food
and Drug Administration approved the over the counter
sale of Pepcid AC
, Tagamet
HB, Zantac 75 and several other medications that
previously had been available only by
prescription.
Facing the
growing popularity of heartburn
medications, you might wonder whether the drugs are
effective at all when it comes to fixing the root cause
of this medical condition and whether the temporary
relief is worth the side effects. Before making a final
conclusion on this issue, let's briefly discuss what is
acid reflux disease and heartburn- its most common
symptom.
The
physiological process associated with GERD is the
abnormal duration of the esophagus exposure to digestive
juices. One of the factors that contribute to this
condition is a weakened lower esophageal sphincter
(LES). The LES is a ring of muscle that acts as a valve
between the esophagus and the stomach. In the case of
acid reflux disease, the LES does not close properly and
stomach contents splashes up into the esophagus, causing
heartburn. Another contributing GERD factor is poor
esophageal clearance of gastric
juice.
In
addition to those local acid reflux causes, there are
also genetic tendencies (which we cannot control) and
several other internal factors and co-factors, that
create the environment leading to acid reflux. Without
tackling those internal factors, there can be no
effective long-term solution for this medical
condition.
All GERD medications can be divided into four broad categories:
1.
Antacids,
such as Alka-Seltzer. They work by neutralizing the
acidity in the esophagus. Their effect lasts up to a few
hours. When the antacid is taken, it immediately starts
to neutralize the acidic juices in the stomach,
rendering them less offensive to the
esophagus.
2.
Alginates
create an ark that surrounds the stomach contents and
reduces reflux.
3.
H2-receptor antagonists, such as HB,
Zantac 75
, and Pepcid AC. These
drugs stop the gastric system from stimulating stomach
acid production by blocking the cells' ability to
secrete acid. H2-receptor antagonists must be taken
before heartburn strikes to achieve relief.
4.
PPI
(Proton pump inhibitors), such as Nexium, which block
the system in the stomach cells (known as the proton
pump) that releases acid into the
stomach.
Trying to treat heartburn by taking
the above medications has some serious downsides. First
of all, these medications have various side effects,
including headache, diarrhea, and even osteoporosis
. Secondly, their impact is limited in
time; therefore they may create physical long-term
dependency. Finally, relying on medications in order to
overcome heartburn is a band-aid approach, mostly aimed
at calming the symptoms while neglecting the root cause
of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Neglecting the
causes of heartburn can, in time, aggravate your
condition and even lead to serious health
complications.
Did you
know that your painful, distressing heartburn symptoms
of GERD could be permanently and effectively eliminated
without the need of heartburn
medication? Adhering to the holistic approach (by
taking specific herbal and vitamin supplements while
following a complete set of dietary principals,
detoxification and Candida control protocols) can treat
your medical condition naturally and prevent its
recurrence.