Medicine For Heartburn

"Cure Your Heartburn"
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Hello William,

It has been approximately 6 weeks since I've been following your advice. It has been amazing.  I have not taken a drug since...

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All heartburn sufferers, including myself, have tried or currently use some kind of medicine for heartburn.  Like most medications, medicines for heartburn merely mask the real problem of heartburn.  OTC heartburn medications typically last for 1 to 2 hours in reducing stomach acid.  These types of medicines for indigestion or heartburn are called antacids, H2 Blockers, and Proton pump inhibitors.  Some of these also come in prescription strength and are usually prescribed to people with more severe heartburn symptoms or GERD as a means for heartburn prevention.

Antacids, such as these, are usually the first medicines for heartburn to be recommended as Heartburn Relief.  A lot of these antacids are made up of a combination of magnesium, salts, aluminum with hydroxide, and calcium, or bicarbonate ions to neutralize the in acid in your stomach.  Here's a list of the antacid medicines for heartburn:
  • Alka-Seltzer
  • Maalox
  • Mylanta
  • Pepto-Bismol
  • Rolaids
  • Riopan
Next are the calcium carbonate antacids, which are a very common form of heartburn/indigestion medicine.  These can also be used as a calcium supplement, but they have been known to cause constipation.
  • Tums
  • Titralac
  • Alka-2
Then there are the foaming agents, which are used to cover your stomach contents with foam to prevent reflux.  These are typically used for heartburn sufferers that have no damage to the esophagus.
  • Gaviscon
Proton pump inhibitors are only available by prescription.  Proton pump inhibitors are more effective than H2 blockers and can relieve symptoms in almost everyone who has severe heartburn or GERD.  The only exception to being sold over the counter is Prilosec OTC 20mg, which is a delayed release tablet for frequent heartburn only.
  • Prilosec (omeprazole)
  • Prevacid (lansoprazole)
  • Protonix (pantoprazole)
  • Aciphex (rabeprazole)
  • Nexium (esomeprazole)
H2 blockers are used to block acid production.  These specific medicines for heartburn can be bought over the counter, but physician must prescribe the prescription strength form.  These heartburn medications are used for short-term heartburn relief.  You should know that the over-the-counter H2 blockers should only be used for a few weeks at a time.  A lot of heartburn sufferer's benefit from taking H2 blockers at bedtime in combination with a proton pump inhibitor.
  • Pepcid AC (famotidine)
  • Tagamet (cimetidine)
  • Axid AR (nizatidine)
  • Zantac 75 (ranitidine)

Since drugs work in different ways for different people, combinations of drugs may help control heartburn symptoms.  Those that get heartburn after eating may decide to take both H2 blockers and antacids.  This is a good combination because the antacids neutralize the acid in the stomach, and the H2 blockers slow down the acid production.  Usually by the time the antacid stops working, the H2 blocker will have stopped acid production.  Like I always say, consult your physician on the specific medicines for heartburn right for you.

There are also natural methods for heartburn relief.  Herbal medicines for heartburn include herbal teas such as peppermint, chamomile, cardamom, and others.  I consider natural heartburn relief to be anything you do to prevent heartburn that doesn't involve drugs.  A piece of chewing gum is good as a quick heartburn relief aid because it creates additional saliva, which helps reduce the acid in your stomach.  Hard candy is also a good heartburn reliever and works the same way as a piece of gum.  Vitamin B12 has always been used to help digest food.  More recently, clinical studies have proven that Vitamin U is effective in treating both gastric as well as intestinal disorders.

I've come across a really strange medicine for heartburn.  It's cow urine medicines for indigestion and it supposedly has been used to cure many ailments.  I've only found this to be prevalent in India.  The statistics I've seen are pretty impressive, but I'm not sure how scientific the results are.  Cow urine medicines for constipation is another ailment it claims to have cured.

I hope you learned a few things after reading this article and that you start to realize that this website is your information guide to heartburn.  If you don't see a particular medicine for heartburn that you're interested in then go ahead send an email to support@heartburnauthority.com and we'll research it for you.