Heartburn Products at Canadian Health&Care Mall

Heartburn is a quite common condition that affects many people during their life. It is caused by moving of stomach acid into esophagus and experienced as burning and pain in the mid-chest. Though, when rare, heartburn is not a great issue, but if it is recurrent and repeats daily for more than 2 weeks, it may lead to acid reflux disease, or GERD.

What is GERD?

Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic condition with heartburn as a main sign.

Among the other symptoms of GERD, you may have:

• Difficulties when you swallow;
• Sour taste in your throat;
• Feeling that food is being stuck in the throat;
• Sore throat;
• Chronic cough;
• Belching;
• Nausea and vomiting;
• Loss of appetite.

If you have some of the above symptoms, you are better seeing your doctor to treat your heartburn on regular base.

Medical Treatment for Heartburn

There are a few types of medicine to relieve heartburn symptoms.

They are:

Antacids

Antacids are drugs to neutralize stomach acid, that are normally used for immediate relieve of severe heartburn. Although effective as first aid drugs, they are not recommended for long-term use, as, taken on regular base, antacids may produce undesired side effects such as diarrhea or constipating, stomach cramps and even osteoporosis.

H2 Blockers

While antacids neutralize stomach acid, H2 blockers work to reduce its production. H2 blockers annihilate the action of histamine in H2 receptors and that, in turn, reduces the activity of parietal cells of the stomach lining, which results in lessening of the amount of stomach acid.

The most common H2 blockers to treat heartburn are:

• Pepcid (famotidine);
• Zantac (ranitidine);
• Tagamet (cimetidine).

H2 blockers do not provide the same fast relieve as antacids, but they last longer. When used constantly, H2 blockers also can cause such side effects as constipation, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and headache and hardly can be used as a daily treatment for heartburn.

Proton Pump Inhibitors

This category of drugs called proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) provides as long as 24-hour effect and can be used not only as a symptom relieving medicine, but also for complex treatment of GERD and stomach ulcers. Proton pump is enzyme contributing to stomach acid production. PPIs inhibit this enzyme, preventing, thus, parietal cells from excessive synthesis of the acid. PPIs are also used for treatment of ulcers produced by bacteria H. Pylori.

You can take PPIs to treat heartburn daily, though they are also not recommended for courses longer than 2-8 week (depending on the medicine prescribed).

Among daily products advised by CHCM’s pharmacists, the most popular drugs are:

• Omeprazole;
• Aciphex;
• Protonix;
• Prevacid.

In the next clause, you can find detailed information on FDA approved proton pump inhibitors worth to be in your home first aid kit.