Acid Reflux Treatment Options

As you may have discovered, there are a lot of acid reflux treatment options available these days. Sometimes it can get to be a little bit confusing. On this page I want to give an overview of the acid reflux treatment options available in the hopes of clarifying the situation a little bit.

We can classify the choices available into three main categories:

a) lifestyle

b) medication and

c) surgery

Lifestyle Treatment Options

 Sometimes, especially for mild cases, simple lifestyle changes may be enough to control acid reflux (Gerd). Some people will be symptom-free if they avoid certain foods.

Others will improve if they eat frequent small meals rather than a few large ones or avoid lying down immediately after eating.

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It makes sense for anybody suffering from acid reflux to take these basic steps. If lifestyle changes alone aren't enough to control symptoms, the next option is some type of medication.

Medications For Acid Reflux

The main medications used are antacids, beta blockers or proton pump inhibitors.

Antacids are simply alkaline compounds that neutralize the acid in the stomach. Over-the-counter and acid preparations typically contain compounds such as magnesium hydroxide or calcium carbonate.

For many years and acids were the only medication available. This changed when H2 blockers became available.

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Most of us have heard of histamine and anti-histamines. Generally we think of an antihistamine is something we take for stuffy nose. However there is another type of histamine receptor located in the stomach that is part of the chain of events that leads to acid being secreted by the lining of the stomach.

If that H2 receptors blocked acid production is reduced.

The first H2 blocker developed was Tagamet. Subsequently there've been many others such as Zantac and Pepcid.

These compounds dramatically changed treatment of both acid reflux and practical as a disease. More recently there have been even more potent compounds referred to as proton pump inhibitors.

You can find out more about this potent class of drugs, as well as an even more drastic treatment, at:

Acid Reflux Treatment Options Part Two

And to find out about a natural effective treatment program for acid reflux be sure to check out the link below:

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