How do oree cid work
How antacids work
There are times when your tummy is not all right,
after you have been eating all that junk food and soft drinks. Your
mummy might give you some pills to make you feel better. It is likely
that this medicine is an antacid. Learn about how these medicines help
you feel better and the chemistry behind them.
What are antacids are used for
Antacids are used for people suffering from heartburn, what is
commonly known as acidity. Don’t worry your heart isn’t set on fire.
This is usually caused by an imbalance of stomach acids. Acids help in
breaking down the food you eat. Though the body has some natural defence
mechanisms against acidity at times these do not work. At these times
you may experience a burning sensation sometimes in your throat or
oesophagus.
Your throat, unlike your stomach, was never designed to handle this
acid. When the valve between your stomach and oesophagus opens
prematurely, some acid enters your throat and you get that burning
feeling known as heartburn. While you have heartburn you may experience a
burning pain in your chest or behind your sternum – just below where
your neck ends.
Acids help in breaking down the food you eat.
How antacids work
Antacids are medicines that help correct the pH balance in your
stomach. Your stomach has its own natural acids and sometimes these
acids become too much for your stomach to handle. This is caused when
you don’t eat on time and you have an empty stomach. What the antacid
does is to neutralise this affect. They buffer the stomach’s gastric
acid since they are basic in nature. Some antacids are designed to
ensure that your stomach doesn’t become too base in nature. Which is the
very opposite of being acidic!
Types of antacids
Antacids are made up of different kind of chemicals. Some of the
common ones include aluminium hydroxide, magnesium hydroxide, calcium
carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Though most of these chemicals are
used individually, you may find them used in combinations.
Why does an antacid fizz when you put it in water
Antacids contain sodium bicarbonate. That’s right— baking powder.
Another important ingredient is citric acid. Both of these chemicals
react with each other producing carbonic acid. In its liquid form this
carbonic acid decomposes producing water and carbon dioxide. What this
means is that the glass of water is very much like your favourite soda
that also contains carbon dioxide in it. The fizz that you see is the
carbon dioxide bubbles bubbling to the surface.
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