PPI drugs are Proton Pump Inhibitors, a class of drugs designed to control excess stomach acid. Medications in this class include Nexium, Prilosec, Prevacid, Protonix, and Zegerid. Many of these are available in over-the-counter and prescription strengths.

Patients suffering from frequent heartburn, acid reflux, and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) may find relief by taking a course of PPI treatment.

How Do PPI Drugs Work?

PPIs work by blocking the gastric proton pump, which is found in parietal cells of the stomach. The gastric proton pump is the mechanism that releases acid into the stomach to help with digestion. The stomach contains millions of parietal cells that reproduce all the time, which means not 100 percent of the stomach acid will be stopped.

Do All PPIs Have the Same Side Effects?

Even though they all reduce the production of stomach acid, one PPI might cause a side effect that another will not.

What Are the Most Frequently Seen Side Effects of PPIs?

The most common adverse side effects include headache, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and flatulence.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends taking PPIs as directed for 14 days to treat frequent heartburn. No more than three 14-day treatments are recommended within one year.

What Are Side Effects of Long Term Use of PPIs?

Studies have found long-term use of PPIs may double the risk of stomach cancer.

Another study conducted by the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at University of California San Diego looked at post-marketing data collected by the FDA of more than 10 million patient records found that patients who take PPIs are much more likely to develop serious kidney problems, including:

• End-stage renal disease (35 times more likely)
• Chronic kidney disease (28 times more likely)
• Kidney impairment (8 times more likely)
• Acute kidney injury (4 times more likely)

The Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis published a study in the medical journal BMJ Open in July 2017 that found PPI users face an increased risk of death compared to patients who take another class of drugs known as H2 blockers instead. The study found patients taking PPIs had a 50 percent increased risk of dying over the next five years.

US News explains that in addition to other side effects, PPI drugs may increase a patient’s risk of contracting a kind of stomach flu. This finding was the result of a study conducted by researchers at the Sorbonne University in Paris, France. The research was published in JAMA Network Open.

According to US News, the stomach flu is not actually the flu. Rather, it is acute gastroenteritis, or inflammation of the lining of the intestines. In this case, it is reportedly caused by a virus. Happily, an infection that causes the stomach flu is usually a short one. It can make a patient quite uncomfortable while it lasts, however, and can cause vomiting and diarrhea.

The research produced by the Sorbonne University showed that patients taking PPI continually are 80 percent more likely than non-PPI users to get the stomach flu — this means that they are almost twice as likely to suffer from an infection of the virus.

US News goes on to note that more information is needed to better understand this possible connection between PPI use and the stomach flu. Experts are not sure why PPI patients have an elevated risk of contracting the stomach flu, but one possible reason why is that the drugs work by reducing stomach acid production in the stomach. This can be helpful in reducing acid reflux and other unpleasant conditions. However, stomach acid is useful in helping protect us from viruses, so reducing the amount of acid a patient has in their stomach could increase their risk for infections.

How Many People Take PPI Drugs?

Nearly 15 million Americans have been prescribed a PPI drug, but many more take over-the-counter versions, which means the total number of people who take the drugs is not known.

How Can a PPI Really Work If I Am Only to Take One for 14 Days a Maximum of Every Four Months?

PPIs are meant to reduce stomach acid in combination with lifestyle changes that can help reduce the chances of suffering from heartburn and other ill effects from excess stomach acid.

Despite some of the more popular PPIs using celebrities to advertise the ability to eat spicy foods as long as the celebrity is taking a PPI, the dependence on the drug to be able to eat anything was not the medication’s original intent, nor is it advised by doctors or the medication manufacturers themselves.