Question

Visit a local supermarket or drug store and examine three over-the-counter medications that claim to (a) reduce stomach acid or (b) alleviate abdominal discomfort or intestinal gas. Make a table that includes each product and list the active ingredients on the product label. Visit the National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health MedlinePlus website at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html or consult another drug index to identify the specific actions of each ingredient. What is the mechanism by which each active ingredient is believed to bring about the desired effect? What is the relative safety of this drug based on the possible side effects or contraindications?

Answer 1

Over-the-counter medications (OTC) are also known as nonprescription medicine, that can not be given or sold to the consumer without a doctors prescription.

Here we can discuss the over counter medications that claim to (a)reduce stomach acid (b)alleviate abdominal discomfort or intestinal gas

such as :

1.Simethicone

2.Pepcid

3.Prilosec or omeprazole

Name	Active ingredients
Simethicone	Simethicone 125 mg
Pepcid	Famotidine
Prilosec/omeprazole	Omeprazole magnesium

1.Tab Simethicone

Simethicone Mechanism:

*Simethicone will directly act on the stomach and intestine and thus change in surface tension of gas bubbles, enabling their breakdown and the formation of larger bubbles. Thus by this way, the gas or flatus can be eliminated more easily by belching or passing flatus.

*Mostly there are not much side effects with this drug.

The commonly reported side effects are:

Diarrhoea, Nausea, Vomiting, Headache

*The contraindications of the drug are :

Hypersensitivity

GI perforation

Intestinal Obstruction

*Drug safety

It should be taken only with a doctors prescription for the effectiveness and safety of the drug. This drug will or relieves in abdominal pain due to excessive gas in the digestive tract and given to patients undergoing upper abdominal ultrasound imaging.

2.Tab Pepcid

* The active ingredient famotidine works by blocking the H2 receptors that are found on the cells in the stomach lining. By blocking theH2 receptors, famotidine prevents histamine from binding to them. This stops the cells from producing stomach acid.

*Side effects with Pepcid are not common but may include constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, dizziness, weakness, mood changes, headache, insomnia.

The contraindications are :

Hypersensitivity to histamine H2 inhibitors and conditions such as stomach cancer, liver problems.chronic kidney diseases such as 3rd,4th and fifth stage, kidney disease with a likely reduction in kidney function.

*Drug Safety

It should be taken only with doctors prescription for the drug safety why because more than the side effect the drug are contraindicated in some of the conditions and should be taken cautiously,The active ingredient famotidine is a type of medicine called H2 receptor antagonist that acts in the stomach to decrease the production of stomach acid.

3.Tab Prilosec

*The active ingredient omeprazole magnesium is a proton pump inhibitor, works by inhibiting the action of the proton pumps and thus reduces the production of stomach acid.

*Side effects:

Headache, abdominal pain.nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and flatulence

*Contraindications:

Allergic or hypersensitivity to proton pump inhibitors, and is contraindicated in conditions such as Clostridium difficile infection, inadequate vitamin B12, low amount of magnesium in the blood.liver problems, intestinal nephritis, SLE, osteoporosis, broken bone, and CYP2C19 poor metabolizer.

*Drug Safety:

it is an OTC drug and should be taken only according to doctors prescription, and is a type of medicine called proton pump inhibitor and should be taken cautiously who are allergic to proton pump inhibitor .the drug is very effective and is safe in most of the patients. Proton pumps are found on cells that line the stomach and are used by these cells to produce stomach acid. Omeprazole works by inhibiting the action of the proton pumps and this reduces the production of stomach acid.