Antacids are usually available without a doctor’s prescription and relieve the indicators of acid indigestion and angina. The common ingredients of antacids are magnesium or aluminum and they work by neutralizing the acid produced in the belly which is the reason for indigestion and acid burn. This group frequently contains sodium alginate which forms a protective coating over the liner of the gullet and the gut. Proton pump Inhibitors are drugs which shut down the system in the stomach called the proton pump. It is this system which produces acid in the gut, the leaking of which into the oesophagus causes acid burn. These drugs are taken in the shape of tablets or capsules, as a powder to be watered down in water or as injections and are used to treat stomach ulcers and a slightly rare condition called Zollinger-Ellison syndrome as well as acid burn. Omeprazole and Lansoprazole are fairly well known types of this actual kind of drug though there are many others. Side effects are not common though they can include bum rot or constipation, stomach pains, wind, fatigue, wooziness and headaches.
In unusual cases, a harsh allergic retort can result. My private experience with Omeprazole was seriously raised blood pressure and dreadful head agony.
Replacing Omeprazole with Ranitidine and taking blood pressure reduction medicine for two weeks fixed that problem. This group of substances works by attaching to and obstructing the H2 receptor area on stomach cells which, when stimulated by the naturally produced chemical, histamine, generates acid. Ranitidine is the famous of this drug group, others being Nizatidine, Famotidine and Cimetidine. Complications are few but can display as ass rot, headaches, dizzy spells and exhaustion. Loss of hair has been reported by takers of Cimetidine and with nizatidine, sweating.
Both proton pump inhibitors and H2 receptor antagonists are used along with antibiotics to get shot of Helicobacter pylori infection which could cause stomach ulcers and duodenitis. They might be suggestive of something much more major than indigestion.