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Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, often shortened to GORD, is what happens when stomach acid travels the wrong way, out of the stomach and up into the food pipe. Reflux now and then is normal; GORD describes the persistent form, where symptoms keep coming back.

Medicines used to treat Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease

Pepcid

Famotidine

20 · 40mg

Pepcid contains famotidine to lower stomach acid in gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. It comes as tablets in several strengths and pack sizes. You see the price per tablet for each option.

FromUS$0.27/ tabletView

Nexium

Esomeprazole

20 · 40mg

Nexium supplies esomeprazole for gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, peptic ulcer disease and erosive oesophagitis. These tablets come in several strengths and pack sizes. You see the price per tablet for each option.

FromUS$0.38/ tabletView

Zantac

Ranitidine

150 · 300mg

Zantac contains ranitidine, an acid-reducing blocker for peptic ulcer disease and gastro-oesophageal reflux disease. It is a tablet available in several strengths and pack sizes. You see the price per tablet for each option.

FromUS$0.29/ tabletView

Key points

  • Reflux that happens more than twice a week is treated as GORD rather than occasional heartburn.
  • Heartburn and regurgitation, where stomach acid or food returns to the mouth or throat, are the two symptoms people report most often.
  • Without treatment, GORD can cause inflammation of the food pipe, narrowing of it, or Barrett’s oesophagus.

What it is and what makes it worse

The underlying problem is stomach acid leaking upwards into the food pipe. Symptoms usually become more noticeable after eating or when lying flat. Large portions, fatty or spicy meals, food eaten late in the evening and a bed position that keeps the head low all make reflux more likely.

Symptoms

Heartburn is a burning sensation that rises from the upper abdomen into the chest and throat. Not everyone has it. Some people notice a persistent cough, a hoarse voice or a lump-like feeling in the throat instead. Chest discomfort caused by reflux can be difficult to tell apart from a heart attack, so severe or unexplained chest pain needs urgent assessment.

How it is treated

Habits come first: smaller portions, nothing to eat late at night, cutting back on fatty and spicy dishes, and propping up the head of the bed. If changes like these are not enough, medicines that suppress acid are used. Proton pump inhibitors are the most effective of them.

Esomeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor, is sold as Nexium tablets in 20 mg and 40 mg strengths. Famotidine, an H2 blocker, is sold as Pepcid tablets in 20 mg and 40 mg strengths. Ranitidine is sold as Zantac tablets in 150 mg and 300 mg strengths.

All three are used for GORD. Nexium and Pepcid are also used for peptic ulcer disease, a use Zantac shares. Nexium is used for erosive oesophagitis as well, and Pepcid for Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. Pharmacy partners in India ship orders to Malaysia in discreet packaging.

When to see a doctor

See a doctor promptly if swallowing becomes difficult, weight drops without a clear reason, or vomit contains blood or stools turn black. Signs like these may point to complications that need investigating beyond routine reflux care.

What the sources say

  • Researchers estimate that about one in five people in the United States has GERD. (NIDDK)
  • GORD is common and affects people of all ages, children included. (Healthdirect)
  • In Barrett’s oesophagus, tissue that looks like the intestinal lining takes the place of the oesophagus’s own lining. (NIDDK)

Further reading

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