Heartburn Relief: Simple Steps You Can Take To Relieve Your HeartburnIn case of overeating antacids are the best forms of heartburn relief. Antacids work in the stomach by lowering the amount of acidity that is the root cause of reflux and thereby help with heartburn. Besides stopping reflux they also neutralize the inflamed area within the esophagus. When combined with foaming agents, the antacids create a barrier of foam inside the stomach. This barrier floats on top of the acid in the stomach and prevents it from moving up into the esophagus thereby providing heartburn relief. The key thing to remember about heartburn relief agents is that they are just that, relief providers, they are not cures and neither can they help with secondary complications resulting from heartburn. Then there are medications that can actually worsen a heartburn condition. This is why it is important never to self-medicate in case of heartburn because there is neither any fixed cause nor any known cure. Though antacids provide excellent heartburn relief their long term use is not recommended because of the side effects. Antacids can cause constipation or diarrhea while some individuals may increase the risk of developing kidney stones. If you are taking other medication then antacids can affect the rate of their absorption. Always give a one hour gap between other medication and taking antacid so that it does not interfere. Always consult your doctor before continuing with antacid for more than a couple of days. Certain medications are H2 receptor antagonists that inhibit the secretion of acid in the stomach. These heartburn relief medications are also known as H2 blockers. They taking about 30 minutes to take affect and the relief can last for around 8 hours. Though the over the counter version of H2 blockers is not as quick as some antacids the effect lasts a lot longer. H2 blockers are most used to provide short term treatment in resistant acid reflux symptoms. Most such patients find complete relief from such symptoms by taking the medication twice a day. Note that these medications are not quite effective in low doses. Consult your doctor to find the right dose that applies to your condition and body. The lower doses are usually available as over the counter heartburn relief medications but they only help for the occasional mild attack and not really treatments. As usual, these medications will take much longer than antacids but their affects will be longer. Ranitidine, Tagamet HB, Zatac 75 are commonly used heartburn relief medications. There are also some newer drugs that can heal the damage done by the acid in the esophagus. |