Nexium is a medication used to treat heartburn that can be purchased at your local drugstore or supermarket.

Along with similar drugs Prilosec and Prevacid, Nexium belongs to a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs for short.

Most individuals think that if a drug is sold over the counter, it is among the safest drugs to take since it is not requiring a physician’s prescription. However, this is not always the case.

What they might be surprised to learn is that Nexium side effects include a greater risk of kidney problems, including chronic kidney disease.

CBS News recently covered this heartburn-drug story that came from a study that was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal in January.

According to the study, individuals who use PPI medications have a 20 to 50 percent greater risk of developing chronic kidney disease as compared to individuals who do not use this class of drugs.

As with many studies, a direct cause and effect relationship was not able to be established, but rather a link was determined to exist between the two.

Dr. Morgan Grams, author of the study, said that other kidney-related Nexium side effects had already been reportedly linked to its use. Acute kidney injury and acute interstitial nephritis, a type of inflammatory kidney disease, were already implicated in previous studies.

The newer study suggests that kidneys may lose their ability to filter blood appropriately, thereby causing toxins to build up in the body. Chronic kidney disease may require patients to deal with continuous kidney dialysis, or may require a kidney transplant.

If treatment of chronic kidney disease is unsuccessful, the body may become so toxic from the inability to have toxins filtered from the blood that the individual dies from the toxicity.

While researchers are not quite certain why kidney disease may result from proton pump inhibitor use, Grams said that some theories claim that Nexium and other PPIs may reduce magnesium levels in the body, and the damage is a result of lacking of this important mineral.

Grams said another theory is that the constant acute kidney inflammation over time by Nexium and other PPI use may cause kidney damage over the long run.

Not only have Nexium and other PPIs been tied to chronic kidney disease, they have also been linked with bone fractures and chronic infections, such as C. difficile and pneumonia.

Following the study results, doctors may be more cautious when prescribing proton pump inhibitors to patients for fear of potential severe Nexium side effects.

Physicians may choose to prescribe other drugs in other classes to treat heartburn, such as H2 blockers, that include histamine-blocking agents such as Zantac and Tagamet to avert any potential kidney problems or kidney issues.

Nexium Side Effects Lawsuit Information

If you have experienced kidney problems including chronic kidney disease as a result of using Nexium, you may be eligible to receive legal compensation for your condition.

An experienced lawyer familiar with Nexium kidney issues can review your case at no charge and can help you determine if you qualify to file a lawsuit against the drug manufacturer.