Heartburn Medicines: Not So Innocent as You Think

How many of you take a daily pill for chronic heartburn? Many Americans are bombarded with TV ads showing “the purple pills” such as Prilosec and Protonix, a couple of which are now OTC. These once-a-day stomach acid-suppressing proton pump inhibitors (“PPI” for short; generic names omeprazole, lansoprazole and other –azoles) really do work very well for acid reflux and heartburn, but many people mistakenly take these chronically instead of the recommended 2-4 weeks.… Read the rest