Too many people in the U.S. may be taking prescription heartburn drugs such as Nexium and Prevacid, Health.com reports. New research suggests that the drugs, known as proton pump inhibitors, suppress stomach acid and help those with serious stomach and digestive problems. But for patients with less serious conditions, the benefits don’t outweigh the risks.

Proton pump inhibitors have rare but serious side effects, including an increased risk of bacterial infection and bone fracture, according to several new studies in the Archives of Internal Medicine. But even with those risks, these medications were among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S. in 2009, with over 110 million scripts.

Nexium and Prevacid (which is also available as a generic drug, lansoprazole) are the two most popular proton pump inhibitors. Other drugs in the class include Prilosec, Zegerid, Protonix, and Aciphex.

“These medications definitely have benefits for a vast number of patients, but they also carry some really meaningful risks of diseases that can be catastrophic,” says Michael Howell, MD, the lead author of one of the studies and the director of critical-care quality at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “Every doctor should look at every patient and give them the lowest level of gastric acid suppression that they think is safe. For many patients, that would be none.”

Before turning to powerful drugs, experts recommend trying lifestyle changes first. “As a culture, we tend to want a pill to deal with our problems, when a lot of people could reduce their heartburn by eating smaller meals, drinking less alcohol, or not smoking,” said Mitchell Katz, MD, the director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health and author of an editorial accompanying the studies. “Clearly there are people who benefit. But when 60% to 70% of people don’t need to be taking it, that’s a huge problem.”

Other ways to combat mild heartburn naturally include eating fewer spicy foods, drinking water before and during each meal, and avoiding lying down just after you eat.

Photo: SmartDietWiki