ACIDITY AND MODERN MEDICINE

 Acidity is a universal disease and almost two-third persons are afflicted with it and once it visits an host it is hard to cure it  except controlling it through medicine and life style.

 The recent press reports say that the Proton Pump inhibitors or P P I widely used for the disease have wide ranging side effects like fracture risks, iron deficiency, Pneumonia and a host of still uncertain  problems . A person who is a victim of its side effects and is compelled to avoid P P I, has no alternatives to combat acidity in modern medicine.

Acidity is a life style disease.  It can begin with irregular meals , stress,  alcohol in take or without any reason at all and whatever the way it comes once afflicted it might stay dormant in the body and rise its head occasionally either when the  medicines stopped using or the life style goes awry.The first step of treatment is to know which way the ailment came in to the body and rectify it while taking medicine. Since it is a lifestyle ailment, people take it in their stride with some O T C medicines. But when the disease grows out of hand to peptic ulcer it becomes a hospital case.

Acidity in its initial stage can be managed with Antacid tablets which diminishes the acidity ( Hydro Chloric Acid, secreted in to the stomach) with the Alkaline content of the pill. It does not give a long term answer and sooner or later the sufferer will have to seek a sustaining solution.

As the sufferers of acidity are aplenty,  it is a multi Billion Dollar research and production business. After considerable research and work, the Proton Pump Inhibitor was invented.. (The pump is not the traditional pump that comes to our minds.  In Medicine a pump can be as little as a  few protein molecules capable of displacing elements to some other spot. One other famous 'pump' is sodium pump in the cell.)A protein capable of moving protons across cell membrane called  Proton Pump is responsible for secreting acid to the stomach and researchers invented drugs to inhibit proton pump which in turn would curtail the amount of acid secretion to the stomach. It is easier said than done, for, it  entailed  arduous research and billions of Dollars, though  it was a negative invention as it was to inhibit a natural process

The Proton pump inhibitor now used is efficient in inhibiting the secretion of acid. The drug somewhat pre-empts the arrival of acids in to the system copiously . However it is found that the medicine also inhibits  the system from absorbing certain important minerals and nutrients in long term use, which leads to developing other problems like getting prone to hip fracture or prone to some other diseases. Since the medicine has a tendency to  create dependency people use it for  long periods which in turn create side effects.

The P P I is the last resort for the acidity sufferers in western countries now. If the medicine proves to be side-effects- ridden further research has to go in to it or has to create an alternate medicine.The American food and administration is regularly warning people of its abuse.

The best way to control acidity in its infant stage is still food control. Eating more fruits and vegetables  and curtailing junk food can be useful.  In India the ancient Ayurvedic medicines  are very effective to combat acidity and they are not only cheap but have no side effects or dependency also. 



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