Latest Heartburn News

Kids' Use of Heartburn Drugs Surges

The number of young children on prescription drugs for
heartburn and other digestive problems jumped about 56
percent in recent years and researchers say obesity and overuse
might be contributing to the surprising increase.

The surge was found in a Medco Health Solutions Inc. analysis
released Thursday of U.S. prescription data for 2002-2006. It
suggests that more than 2 million U.S. children 18 and under
used drugs for digestive or gastrointestinal complaints last year.

"It's a signal that something's going on that we need to keep an
eye on," said Dr. Robert Epstein, Medco's chief medical officer.
"Whether it's parents getting their children diagnosed more
frequently, or obesity," or other factors, "it bears further study,"
he said.

Researchers at Medco, a pharmacy benefits management
company based in Franklin Lakes, N.J., analyzed prescription
drug claims of more than 575,000 U.S. children.

They calculated that 557,259 infants and children up to age 4, or
about 3 percent of youngsters in that age range, were taking
these drugs last year. That's about a 56 percent increase from
2002.

There was a 31 percent increase among children aged 5 to 11,
climbing to an estimated 551,653 children, or 2 percent in that
age group in 2006, the analysis found.

Almost 1 million children aged 12 to 18 had prescriptions for the
drugs last year, but that was up only 6 percent over 2002.

Acid-reducing drugs called proton pump inhibitors are the most
common medicines prescribed for GI problems, the analysis
said. They are used for acid reflux associated with heartburn,
and a related condition called gastroesophageal reflux disease or
GERD.

Some of these, including Prevacid, were approved for use in
children during the study period, which likely also contributed to
the prescription surge, said Dr. Benjamin Gold, an Emory
University specialist in children's digestive diseases.

Heartburn is a common complication of being overweight and the
surge happened during the nation's rising obesity epidemic, said
Dr. Renee Jenkins, president-elect of the American Academy of
Pediatrics. She noted that more than 10 percent of U.S.
preschoolers and 30 percent of older children are considered
overweight.

Gold said there's no hard data on how many children have acid
reflux or GERD. But there's some evidence that the numbers are
rising, and obesity could be playing a role, he said.

Heartburn and acid reflux are also extremely common in infants
and young children. Many of them outgrow it and drug treatment
often isn't needed, so the increase raises concerns about
whether these drugs are sometimes being used unnecessarily,
said Jenkins, a Howard University pediatrics professor.

While some children do require treatment including prescription
drugs, many get better with no treatment or lifestyle changes
such as smaller, more frequent meals or cutting down on fatty
foods, she said.

Still, parents increasingly are demanding that doctors prescribe
medicine for reflux, in part because of direct-to-consumer
marketing, Gold said. But also, symptoms including frequent
spitting up, irritability and stomach aches are troublesome and
many parents prefer a quick fix, he said.

Gold said reflux drugs are generally safe but there is some
evidence linking long-term use with an increased risk of
infections including pneumonia and bowel inflammation.

To avoid overuse, Jenkins said parents should be willing to try
non-drug approaches for treating reflux and other digestive
problems in young children.
Copyright 2006 by home-remedies-for-heartburn.com
An Amazing
E-book
in the Internet
History

1000 Copies Sold Out
Within a month

Get Your Copy Now
Dear Natural Heartburn
Cure,

"I want to let you know how
fantastic your eBook is!  I
have been doing what you
recommended….I’m
certainly never buying
expensive treatment for
Heartburn again that’s for
sure!”

I suffered from re-
occurring Heartburn for
years and kept having to
use counter drugs all the
time to keep it in check.   
One day I stumbled across
your ebook and decided to
give it a shot thinking what
have I got to lose, same
price as my counter drugs
and there was a money
back guarantee which to be
honest I thought I might
end up using.

I wasn’t sure what to
expect maybe some weird
diet, or to have to buy some
cream or something that
cost more more…but there
was nothing hard AT ALL
about it (easy as pie) and
my heartburn  was gone.

It hasn’t come back….
couldn't believe it.  I would
have paid 10 times as much
to get rid of my heartburn
so fast and easily!"

Jacob Amstrong (Florida)
Home-Remedies-for-Heartburn.com