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34 GASTROESOPHAGEAL REFLUX DISEASE SOUR TASTE OF BEING WRONG FOR TOO LONG By Nerine Zoio. H eartburn and indigestion are the order of the day for pharmacies, with many people easily panicked if they don’t have at the very least the safety of a chalky tablet at hand. People suffering from heartburn, spanning gastroesophageal reflux disease (GORD) and other stomach conditions, look to pharmacists and pharmacy assistants for OTC or prescribed medications for relief. However, they also well know, as do patients, that there’s not always a quick fix, with many patients on the wrong medication for too long, often leaving a sour taste, literally and figuratively. This highlights the need to navigate such tricky terrain with care and perhaps with the help of a recently launched range of complex probiotics (discussed later in the article). Advanced practice pharmacist Debbie Rigby says GORD is among the most common of conditions presented to GPs, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants in Australia. “It’s difficult for consumers to differentiate between gastroesophageal reflux disease, acid reflux and heartburn, and they’ll therefore present their symptoms to pharmacists, with the most common conditions being heartburn or GORD,” she said. “Acid reflux is a common medical condition that can range in severity from mild to serious, whereas gastroesophageal reflux disease is the chronic, more severe form of acid reflux, and heartburn a symptom of acid reflux and GORD.” She attributes these conditions to the usual culprits: big meals, overeating, naps after consumption, too-tight clothes, tomatoes, spicy food and chocolate. “So, it’s all about people knowing their triggers,” Ms Rigby said, “but even this knowledge meets with resistance as people don’t necessarily want to give up certain comforts or foods.” Medicines can also cause or exacerbate GORD, she says, which is less known, with most people assuming the source of the problem is a lifestyle factor. “This is where pharmacies can really help, because medicines used would come up in MedsChecks conducted in the pharmacy and home medicine reviews,” Ms Rigby said. “For the best possible medication history, two questions have to be asked: what medicines the patient is taking and whether any of these medicines could be causing or exacerbating symptoms.” TO PAGE 36 RETAIL PHARMACY ASSISTANTS • AUG 2020