There has been a drug company motivated push to medicalize normal physiologic responses. One of the largest markets for adults has been the stomach acid problem, or the disease called gastroesophageal reflux, or GERD. This used to be called heartburn. The main causes include a weakness of the esophageal sphincter, perhaps due to ingestion of alcohol, chocolate, or peppermint, obesity and pregnancy, and a motility problem. Acid is necessary for digestion of proteins, absorption of nutrients, and killing of food-borne pathogens. So rather than deal with the causes of reflux, we've opted to stop the acid. The downstream effects of this can be hip fracture (due to poor calcium absorption), vitamin B12 deficiency (fatigue, neuropathy, anemia), small intestine bacterial overgrowth, and many other conditions. What I find particularly hideous is that a proton-pump inhibitor has now been reformulated for infants who spit-up or have reflux. This drug is approved on a study of 127 children aged 1-11 years. 5% or more (they don't say how many more) of the children had side effects including cough, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain. Rather than give these infants and children a drug, wouldn't it be safer to do a dietary intervention and/or manipulative intervention?
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