Acid Reflux Medication

Lifestyle changes plus antacids, H2 blockers, or proton pump inhibitors are usually the first things that are tried in the treatment of symptoms whose probable cause is gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). Acid Reflux Medication is used for the following purposes: (1) relief of symptoms like heartburn, pain, or sour taste, (2) allowing the esophagus to heal, and (3) prevention of GERD complications.

 

Nonprescription medication can be appropriate when symptoms are mild and infrequent. Antacids such as Mylanta, Rolaids, Tums, and Gaviscon counteract stomach acid to mitigate heartburn. If taking acid reflux medication only when your symptoms are bothering you is what you want to do, antacids are a good option because they relieve symptoms quickly.

 

When acid reflux happens more frequently than twice a week, it could respond better to medication that works twenty-four hours a day, but most over-the-counter treatments, like Prilosec OTC, do not work this way. Long-term (and often lifelong) medication may be necessary for more severe GERD symptoms since these symptoms usually return if medication is stopped.

 

Histamine-2 (H2) blockers in prescription form involve higher doses than their OTC versions, and they can be used as acid reflux medication that relieves heartburn too. Take note, though: while prescription-strength H2 blockers may be particularly good against heartburn, they are less so for inflammation of the esophagus (esophagitis), which can result from acid reflux.

 

What histamine does is reduce the production of acid, especially after meals. For best results, take your prescribed H2 blockers half an hour before your meals. They can also be taken at bedtime, to curb the body’s nighttime production of acid. Common H2 blockers include cimetidine, famotidine, nizatidine, and ranitidine.

 

Doctors can prescribe acid reflux medication that would block the production of acid more efficiently and for a longer time than H2 blockers would. This decision may be based on the source of one’s acid reflux or heartburn. A proton pump inhibitor or PPI is a drug that has the effect of inhibiting gastric acid secretion, making it useful as an acid reflux medication. PPIs should be taken an hour before one’s meals. This group of drugs includes dexlansoprazole, esomeprazole, lansoprazole, omeprazole, pantoprazole, and rabeprazole. PPIs are also advantageous because they protect the esophagus from gastric acids, letting it recover from esophageal inflammation.

 

Promotility agents may occasionally be used as acid reflux medication because they stimulate the muscles in the gastrointestinal tract. The effect they have may prevent acid from remaining too long in the stomach and may toughen the lower esophageal sphincter, consequently decreasing reflux into the esophagus.