Antacids, known as Proton pump inhibitors by the medical community, are a class of drugs normally prescribed for heartburn symptoms. With names like Prilosec, Prevacid, Nexium and Protonix- a large percentage of Americans are intimately familiar with these prescription drugs.

They are SO often recommended for heartburn that most people who take them have never had any testing to figure out WHY they have chronic heartburn. Yet that is EXACTLY the question that they SHOULD be asking before they just hand over a prescription medication to you. Despite the ease with which your doctor hands these drugs out, they could have some serious consequences in the long run that your doctor most likely didn’t tell you.

First, they do exactly what they say they do- block acid in the stomach. While this might relieve some symptoms of heartburn, isn’t our stomach SUPPOSED to have acid in it? That is a big YES. The pH of our stomach is close to that of battery acid. And for good reason.

Approximately 98% of pathogenic organisms that we are exposed to come into our bodies through the food we eat and the fluids that we drink!! Our stomach is the very first line of defense that we have against these 10’s of thousands of pathogens that our bodies encounter every single day of our life. And stomach acid is the defense that we evolved over 10’s of thousands of years to effectively kill these viruses, bacteria, protozoa and their cysts.

So why would you bother washing your hands after using the restroom if you are going to take an acid blocker and destroy the first line of defense for your digestive tract?

Decreasing the pH in your stomach is setting you up to get salmonella, giardia, “food poisoning” and a number of other digestive tract pathogens. The battery acid action of your stomach also helps to digest your food, so changing this pH will affect the digestion of your food and the absorption of nutrients- especially calcium.

Calcium REQUIRES an acidic environment in order to be absorbed, and research is finding that these prescription antacids increase your risk of hip fractures- a potentially lethal event in the elderly!

Another long term consequence of taking acid blockers is that they INCREASE your risk of gastric cancer! Yes, your doctor is prescribing you a drug that GIVES you an extra risk factor for stomach cancer. I’ll bet that he didn’t tell you THAT either, now did he? Ironically, the one thing that your doctor SHOULD test for if you have chronic heartburn- but that it’s likely that he won’t- is the H pylori bacteria .

The irony is that untreated H pylori is ANOTHER risk factor for gastric cancer.

So, if you DO happen to have the H pylori bacteria AND he gives you an acid blocker, then he has just given you TWO risk factors for gastric cancer when you could have eliminated BOTH of them with a simple blood test.

That’s enough to give you heartburn.

Any infection is bound to harmful to the human body in some way or other. The organs of the human body are quite sensitive and prone to a multitude of different diseases. However, the urinary bladder is one of the most vulnerable organs of the human body and, therefore, the probability of it being infected is quite a good one.

An infection to the urinary bladder is normally caused due to the presence of the bacterium E-coli in it. This bacterium is quite a harmless one in the lower intestine of the human body. However, it is quite detrimental to the health of the urinary bladder.

The bladder infection is known to occur mostly in female members of the human race. This is due to the urinary bladder in women being more susceptible to an infection when compared to the bladder in men.

The bacterium E-coli is one that is quite capable of causing a great amount of damage and, therefore, should be controlled effectively. This process should also be taken in a manner that the remedy does not involve the extinction of harmless and also beneficial bacteria residing in the urinary bladder.

This requirement is, therefore, quite an important one and the whole world is now realising this importance. This is prevalent with a reduction in the number of occurrences of bladder infections in the current decade.

The credit for this reduction goes to the tireless efforts of researchers and scientists all over the world who have now come up with an accurate cure (and one that is selective also) in the form of medicines that are made from naturally occurring ingredients.

The process that is followed by these medicines involves the selection of E-coli amidst all the other forms of bacteria present in the urinary bladder.

This is turning out to be the much needed ‘boon’ for the immense suffering being undergone by victims of bladder infections all over the world.

This ‘boon’ is also being given the online access with websites dealing in the act of selling the medicines required for curing bladder infections.

Perhaps you have read several articles on ADHD that have differing issues concerning the drugs used to treat the disorder. If you have been searching for facts on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder online, you have probably come across many of these sites discussing about the pros and cons of the drugs used to treat ADHD. Hence, you may have learned by now that the use of these drugs in treating ADHD is a controversial issue.

The use of prescription medications in treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder has become a raging issue because of the many side effects that are associated with the drugs. There have been reviews discussing comprehensively the adverse effects of the drugs on some ADHD patients and there have also been reviews discussing their many positive effects.

Are ADHD Drugs Good or Not?

With the many articles that contain different opinions about ADHD drugs, you may wonder which is true or which is not. The truth is that drugs are indeed proven to be effective in treating ADHD. For years, they have been used by medical practitioners in treating the disorder. However, it is also true that ADHD drugs may not lead to beneficial improvements in ADHD patients. This is true for some patients as there really are individuals who do not respond well to medications. It is also true that these prescription drugs may have adverse side effects on the individuals taking them; but again, not all ADHD patients may feel the side effects. Therefore, the answer to the question of whether ADHD drugs are good or not depends on how well the ADHD individual tolerates the drug.

What are the Adverse Effects of ADHD Drugs that Make Them Controversial?

Taking ADHD drugs may lead to several adverse side effects on some patients. One of these effects is hallucinations, where an ADHD individual taking the medication may start to imagine things such as crawling insects on his body. Another is that ADHD medications may predispose children and teenagers to drug addiction. Worst, taking the medications may result to suicidal tendencies in some patients. There have also been reports of deaths associated with the intake of these drugs, particularly when the individual under medication is suffering from other health problem aside from ADHD.

Others refute these claims against ADHD prescription drugs, saying that the adverse effects may only result if and when the ADHD patients or their parents do not follow the intended dose prescribed by the physician.

What Can Be Done to Prevent Adverse Effects from Happening?

To prevent adverse effects from happening and putting your love one’s life at risk, always follow the instructions given by the doctor. Likewise, keep a close communication with the doctor and immediately report to him any irregularities that may happen upon intake of the drug.

Because of the controversies surrounding the use of drugs to treat ADHD, many parents are now using alternative treatments to medications. Some of the alternative treatments that are widely used are homeopathic remedies and diet therapy.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one problem which may have become very common in several homes. Indeed, with the rise of ADHD among children, more and more households may now be struggling against the fact that one of their family members is actually suffering from ADHD.

People who have known ADHD patients or who have loved ones who are diagnosed to have ADHD may probably be aware of the many varied drugs used in treating the disorder. In the past years, scientists have developed many new drugs for ADHD which are intended to help address the symptoms of the disorder.

Some of the most common drugs for ADHD that scientists have developed so far include amphetamines, methylphenidate drugs, atomoxetin, and dextroamphetamines. Most of these drugs are stimulants. Brand names for these kinds of drugs include Ritalin, Concerta, Adderall, Wellbutrin, Focalin XR, Methylin, Metadate CD, Vivanse, and Strattera. Strattera is the only non-stimulant drug widely used in treating ADHD.

Ritalin is one of the most common among these ADHD drugs. A methylphenidate, the effectiveness of this drug in treating Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is backed by several scientific studies. However, some parents who have used this drug for the treatment of ADHD in their children have reported that this drug have only aggravated aggressiveness and other adverse symptoms of ADHD in their children. In such cases, doctors usually advice a change of dose of the drug and sometimes, they advice a change of medication.

Another widely used drug for ADHD is Concerta. Like Ritalin, it is a methylphenidate. Unlike Ritalin and other methylphenidates, though, Concerta uses a special-time release technology.

Adderall is also a widely used ADHD medication. It is a mixture of amphetamines and dextroamphetamines. Sometimes, it is called “Amphetamine Mixed Salts”. This drug can come in tablet form and capsule form.

In cases where none of these stimulants work in the ADHD individual, the doctor may prescribe Strattera. Strattera is often used when stimulant drugs do not work in ADHD patients. If this still does not work, the doctor may then prescribe the patient with antihypertensive drugs.

Although these drugs have been shown in clinical and scientific studies to be effective in treating the disorder, it still cannot be debated that there have been many incidences of side effects associated with the intake of these drugs. Most of the side effects have shown to be mild but it also cannot be denied that other patients have experienced or may experience adverse side effects with intake of these drugs. As a result, more and more parents and adult ADHD patients are now taking alternative treatments in addressing their problem on ADHD. Alternative treatments such as homeopathic remedies are especially fast gaining popularity among parents of ADHD children and among ADHD adults.

If your child is currently taking medications but is experiencing side effects, thus you want to try ADHD alternative treatments, it will be very helpful if you will ask your child’s doctor first before giving any alternative treatment available.