Acid Reflux Medications: Get Control of Your GERD
By Frank Vanderlugt
If you struggle with gastroesophageal reflux disease (or GERD), you may be considering which acid reflux medications can best help you control the problem and relieve the painful symptoms. You may be experiencing symptoms like heartburn, nausea, chest pains, coughing, and so on. When symptoms hit, many people turn to lifestyle changes and medications to help relieve them.
Acid reflux, simply, happens when the stomach’s acid and contents reflux or back up into the esophagus. In severe cases, the acid can damage the lining of the esophagus. Acid reflux is very common in infants, although it is more commonly known as spitting up, and children generally outgrow the condition. Some estimates suggest that over 15 million Americans suffer from acid reflux and the incidence seems to increase with age.
Before trying acid reflux medication or in conjunction with it, doctors recommend that you make some lifestyle changes. Many people find that the frequency and severity of their acid reflux decreases when they change the way they eat and position themselves. Making these changes should always accompany medication as it can help you take less medicine and live a healthier life.
Some of the lifestyle changes that doctors recommend include avoiding foods that are high in fat, eating smaller more frequent meals, and staying upright after eating for at least an hour. You may also want to elevate the head of your bed if you experience heartburn at night. Experts also recommend keeping a food diary so that you can identify the foods that trigger your acid reflux.
Antacids are another common treatment option for acid reflux. You can buy antacid medications over the counter. They neutralize the stomach acid and provide temporary relief from symptoms. One of the drawbacks of using this acid reflux medication is that it will only provide relief for around an hour before acid can begin to accumulate again.
Another common treatment for acid reflux is histamine antagonists. This medication is taken before a meal to help limit the production of acid in the stomach. Although these medications do help control acid reflux, they do not help with the inflammation that GERD can produce in the esophagus.
Proton pump inhibitors are another acid reflux medication. The advantage of this type of medication is that it blocks acid production better than the treatments above and does so for a longer period of time. You should take the medication at least an hour before meals so that it’s at peak performance when acid would generally be accumulating.
Your doctor may also suggest other acid reflux medications such as pro-mobility drugs and foam barriers. In severe cases, surgery may be needed to control the disease. Recently, endoscopy has also been used to help treat acid reflux.
Talk to your doctor about what acid reflux medications that you should use to help control and ease your particular symptoms. You may find that making lifestyle changes will ease your symptoms. If not, consider which medication will be best for your particular frequency and intensity of acid reflux.
About the author
Frank vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.acid-reflux-now.com Acid Reflux from http://www.FreeArticlesAndContent.com
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