Acid Reflux Medications May Pose Hip Fracture Risk for Post Menopausal Women

In recent studies, it is found that acid reflux medications such as Prevacid, Nexium and Prilosec may put post-menopausal women at higher risk for hip fractures. A study, according to a Fox News article, shows that taking these acid reflux medications can indeed cause a higher risk for hip fractures, most notably in post-menopausal women. The study showed that the signs show up some two years after the patient has taken these types of medication for acid reflux. Proton pump inhibitors appear to be the cause of these fractures and can be found in all of these acid reflux medications.

It is important that women, in particular, are careful of their use of such medications. The long-term affects could cause you to have a much higher risk for hip fractures in your aging years. Although this may not sound like it matters at the time, hip fractures are extremely painful and when you get them, you will be incapacitated for quite a long period of time. Understanding this risk and what it can mean to women after menopause could be a deciding factor in whether you should take any proton pump inhibitors in your younger years.

Most women are already aware that you are at a high risk for hip fractures in aging years due to osteoporosis. That is when the bones begin to degenerate which means that you are at a higher risk for hip and other bone fractures. Using proton pump inhibitors could possibly raise the risk even higher. That means that in aging years, you would have to be twice as careful about what you do so that you don't end up with a hip fracture just because you took medications to help your acid reflux.

Acid reflux is painful and can cause you to avoid eating because you are afraid that you will have a flare up. It certainly makes sense that you would want to get rid of the pain by taking these medications that "make it go away". The problem is that you may be taking that pain away only to replace it with worse pain later in life. Take this all into consideration when you decide to take Prevacid, Nexium, Prilosec or any other proton pump inhibitor medication.

Unfortunately, many people take these medications even when they don't have acid reflux or GERD. Many people take the medication as though it were an antacid medication so they can eat what they want to eat without having heartburn afterwards. If you are one of those people, especially female, you might want to stop and think about the affects it could have on you later in life.

There are ways to prevent acid reflux flare ups and heartburn. Most people don't want to think about those alternatives though. Eat less fried foods and less spicy foods for starters. Changing your diet is one of the best ways to avoid getting these sometimes serious health problems. Talk to your doctor about other ways you can avoid acid reflux flare ups or heartburn to get the best information on the subjects. While you are at the doctor's office, you may want to ask him/her about the possibility that proton pump inhibitors cause a higher likelihood of hip fracture to find out your doctors thoughts on it. Taking care of your health today is just as important as looking out for your future health, especially in the aging years.