Heartburn Medicine: An Overview
Heartburn can range from mildly discomforting to life-altering aggravation – and everything in between. Finding the right heartburn medicine is paramount to managing your heartburn once and for all. Heartburn is usually caused by acid reflux disease – a disorder in which acids and enzymes from the stomach back up into the esophagus.
The doctor who is treating your heartburn problem will likely recommend heartburn medicine for the condition based on the severity of your symptoms. For some heartburn sufferers, non-prescription, over-the-counter (OTC) heartburn medicine is enough to control the symptoms of heartburn, especially when used in conjunction with dietary and lifestyle changes. In other cases, OTC heartburn remedies may not be enough to alleviate heartburn. Severe heartburn issues may require prescription heartburn medicine.
Common Heartburn Medicine
There are four classes of heartburn medicines, some of which may only be obtained with a prescription from your doctor. These are antacids, foaming agents, H2 blockers and proton-pump inhibitors. Let’s look at these in greater detail.
Antacids are the most common heartburn medicine – and most people have a bottle of them in their medicine chest for the occasional relief of heartburn. Antacids like Alka-Seltzer, Maalox, Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol, and Mylanta are the first line of treatment that most doctors recommend. Antacids use different combinations of three basic salts (calcium, magnesium or aluminum) combined with bicarbonate or hydroxide ions in order to reduce or neutralize the acid content of the stomach.
Antacids work very rapidly, bringing relief within twenty minutes of the onset of heartburn. Heartburn that is not relieved when antacids are administered should be discussed with your doctor. It is important for those with heartburn that take antacids to understand that antacid heartburn medicine can interact with other drugs that they are taking, so it’s important for these sufferers to discuss taking antacids with their doctor to find out if an interaction with medication is possible – especially if the heartburn sufferer has a medical condition that requires sodium restriction in the diet.
Foaming agents are also very commonly used heartburn medicines. Foaming agents (like Gaviscon, for example) work to prevent acid reflux and related heartburn by covering the stomach contents with foam and may also be beneficial for heartburn sufferers who don’t have a damaged esophagus like most people who are afflicted with acid reflux.
H2 blockers are known in the medical field as histamine receptor antagonists. These types of heartburn medicine work to lower the level of acid that is produced by the stomach and are safe for most heartburn sufferers. You may know H2 blockers by their commercial names like Tagamet HB, Zantac 75, Axid AR or Pepcid AC. While these medicines are available by prescription, they are also available over-the-counter as well.
Many patients take H2 blockers before eating foods that they know will cause heartburn. If a patient is taking other prescription medications, they should consult their doctor before taking H2 blockers as they can interfere with the effects of other medicines; for example, Tagamet HB should not be used except under a doctor’s order when taking asthma medication, medication to thin the blood or seizure medication.
Proton pump inhibitors are typically prescribed for patients who have heartburn more than twice weekly that is not relieved with the use of antacids and have been officially diagnosed with acid reflux disease. Proton pump inhibitors or PPIs, reduce the amount of acid released by the stomach, reducing and alleviating heartburn. PPIs also work to promote the healing of the esophagus that is caused by acid reflux.
PPIs are usually recommended in those patients who have moderate to severe damage of the esophageal lining, or whose heartburn symptoms are not relieved by other heartburn medicine, such as H2 blockers. PPIs are available by prescription and include heartburn medicines like Nexium, Protonix, and Prevacid, among others.
