Consumer Reports Health: Americans With Heartburn Paying Too Much Green For Nexium's 'Pu...(should see their doctor. They may need ...),Health

Consumer Reports Health notes that people who do need PPIs could save about $200 a month by asking their doctor for an alternative to Nexium such as Prilosec OTC or its generic version, omeprazole OTC, which costs less than $1 a day. Preavacid24HR, an over-the-counter version of Prevacid, could arrive as early as mid-November, providing another good option for consumers.

Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs, which rates more than 200 prescription drugs to treat more than 20 common conditions, is part of a larger initiative by the new Consumer Reports Health Ratings Center to provide consumers with health ratings based on independent and unbiased review of the best scientific evidence available, also known as Comparative Effectiveness Research. Consumer Reports Best Buy Drugs reports in Spanish are available for free at www.consumerreportsenespanol.org.

Help for Heartburn

• Track how often you get heartburn, so you can tell your doctor.
• Eat smaller meals, lose weight, and avoid alcohol.
• Try over-the-counter antacids such as Maalox, Mylanta, Rolaids, or Tums, or one of many acid-reducing drugs known as an H2 blockers, such as cimetidine (Tagamet HB), famotidine (Pepcid AC), nizatidine (Axid AR) or ranitidine (Zantac 150). These are available as low-cost generics as well.
• See a doctor if symptoms persist.
• Compare cost and effectiveness of different PPIs if your doctor recommends one; check to see if your insurance covers over-the-counter PPIs.
  

October 2009

The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose
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