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Medication for Heartburn Can Make Acid Reflux WORSE

By: Jeff Martin Medication for Heartburn is a POOR Solution Over Time. Find Out Why Heartburn Drugs Won't Work from an Ex -Heartburn Victim Who Tested Them All.

Conventional treatments are often used for relief by millions of individuals enduring the pain and discomfort of symptoms of gastro esophageal disease, the most widespread of which is in all certainty heartburn. Very popular at the moment, one of these heartburn medications, Nexium, even scored as the number three worldwide for drug sales, amassing up over $5.7 billion in 2005.

1. The mounting number of GERD (Acid Reflux) patients in the western world will only continue. In 2006 alone, there were approximately 25 million acid reflux patients with recurrent heartburn in America. 2. Drugs for GERD are marketed with huge financial resources, advertising and publicity, and by physicians prescribing them to patients. 3. Consumers can now purchase such drugs over the counter, a big change from the prescription that was required before. A decade ago, the Food and Drug Administration agreed to over the counter sales of Pepcid AC, Tagamet HB, Zantac 75 and extended a number of other medicaments from the prescription-only list.

With the popularity of such heartburn medicine still increasing, the question is whether such drugs have the desired results when it comes to resolving the basic cause of this medical problem and if the alleviation justifies the secondary effects. Before any final judgment on the matter, we'll rapidly review the nature of acid reflux disease and heartburn, its most frequent manifestation.

In physiological terms, GERD is the consequence of an excessively high exposure of the esophagus to stomach juices. This problem comes about because of a weakened LES or lower esophageal sphincter. The LES is a circular valve made of muscle closing off the esophagus from the stomach. In cases of acid reflux disease, the LES fails to shut as it should, and stomach content finds its way back into the esophagus, resulting in heartburn. Another factor that degrades conditions for GERD is poor esophageal evacuation of gastric juices.

These hidden elements must be treated. If not, there is no permanent answer for this medical problem. It turns out that as well as local reasons for acid reflux, other reasons include genetic characteristics (independent of our control) and other hidden factors and co-factors that creating the context that triggers acid reflux.

Any GERD medication will be one of four kinds:

1. Antacids, an example being Alka-Seltzer, bringing relief of a few hours by the neutralization of acid in the esophagus. Upon taking the antacid, the neutralization of the stomach acid begins instantaneously, to limit the esophageal corrosion. 2. Alginates relieve symptoms by creating a "wrapper" that wraps around the stomach contents to decrease reflux. 3. H2-receptor antagonists such as HB, Zantac 75 and Pepcid AC are preventing the stomach cells from leaking acid, actually stop the gastric system and the stomach from producing acid. Patients must use H2-receptor antagonists ahead of any heartburn if relief is to be effected. 4. Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPI) such as Nexium, which stop the "proton pump" in gastric cells from functioning in order to prevent acid being generated.

In the end, adopting medication as the only solution to treat heartburn is an unsatisfactory approach, only working on the symptoms but missing the root cause of GERD. Neglect of causes such as these can degrade your condition over time and even result in further medical complications. Such treatments for heartburn may also have serious side effects. Headaches, diarrhea and in some cases osteoporosis are among the additional ailments possible. Also, their long-term impact is weak and the chance of physical long-term dependency therefore more pronounced.

Were you aware that your discomforting and painful heartburn symptoms of GERD could be permanently and completely eradicated without having to use any heartburn medication? Via a holistic approach, with the use of particular herbal and vitamin adjuncts, at the same time as observing a complete set of dietary principles, detoxing and Candida control protocols), your medical condition can be cured naturally and permanently.

Article Source: http://www.lifeweightloss.com

Jeff Martin is a certified nutritionist and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, Heartburn No More . To Learn More About Heartburn Medication Visit: Heartburn Medication

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