Simple Bullets: Antacids

Antacids: raise the luminal pH 4 to give a very sticky gel that adheres strongly to the base of ulcer craters.

Sodium Bicarbonate: Also known as baking soda. It works quickly to neutralize acid. It is the only useful water-soluble antacid. It acts rapidly but has a transient action and absorbed bicarbonate in high dose may cause systemic alkalosis.

Magnesium Hydroxide: Mg hydroxide and magnesium trisilicate are insoluble in water and have a fairly rapid action. Magnesium has a laxative effect and may cause diarrhea

Aluminum Hydroxide: has a relatively slower action. Aluminum ions form complexes with certain drugs (tetracyclines) and tend to cause constipation. Mixtures of magnesium and aluminum compounds may be used to minimize the effects of motility.

Aluminum and Magnesium: Aluminum salts dissolve slowly in the stomach and work gradually, providing longer-lasting relief. Magnesium salts act quickly to neutralize acids. The effects of aluminum and magnesium balance each other so well; these types of antacids have long been considered an excellent treatment for digestive upset. However, in recent years there have been questions about the long-term safety of taking aluminum, which may deplete the body of phosphorus and calcium, increasing the risk of weak bones.

Calcium Carbonate: Also known as chalk, it acts quickly and neutralizes acids for relatively long periods of time.

Antacid Overuse

Can affect absorption, bioavailability, or urinary excretion of other drugs by altering gastric and urinary pH or by delaying gastric emptying

Overuse can cause the following problems:

1. Aluminum hydroxide: Constipation and Hypophosphatemia, Osteomalacia

2. Magnesium Hydroxide: Diarrhea, Hypermagnesemia

3. Calcium Carbonate: Hypercalcemia, Rebound Acid ↑, Constipation, Renal Stones

4. Sodium Bicarbonate: Metabolic Alkalosis, Hypertension, Renal Failure

All Causes Hypokalemia

Do we have a Mnemonics for this? I have something for you!!!

Aluminum: AluMINIMUM amount of feces

Magnesium (MG): Must Go to the bathroom

Who says we can’t have our own mnemonics? LOLzZ Well, here we have:

Aluminum: (W)Ala Tae!

Magnesium; Magtatae!

Sharing knowledge can be so FUN!
Hope it can help!


ANTACIDS Related Questions:

A client says, “I take ½ teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water when I get heartburn.” The nurse suggests that the client use an antacid preparation that contains aluminum hydroxide and magnesium such as MAALOX. This response is based on the fact that antacids:

a. Contain little if any sodium

b. Are readily absorbed by the stomach mucosa

c. Have no direct effect on systemic acid-base balance when taken as directed

d. Causes few side effects such as diarrhea or constipation when they are used properly.

NURSING REVIEW: Congestive Heart Failure Bullets

• Heart failure occurs when the heart’s pumping becomes impaired, resulting in inability to meet the body’s oxygen demands. The most common type of heart failure, left-sided failure, occurs when the left ventricle cannot contract sufficiently.
• Afterload is the amount of resistance the ventricle pumps against. In order to pump effectively, the ventricle must generate sufficient pressure to overcome this resistance.
• Left heart failure occurs when arteries downstream constrict, resulting in increased afterload: resistance too high for the ventricle to pump against.
• A heart attack can also cause left heart failure.
• In a failing heart, blood accumulates in the left ventricle causing pressure. This pressure, called preload, causes the ventricle to expand.
• Increased preload worsens the ventricle’s ability to pump. Accumulating blood stretches the cardiac muscle fibers, pulling myosin and actin filaments farther apart. When over-stretched, myosin molecules cannot connect with actin, the myosin–actin crossbridges cannot swivel.
• The inability of the crossbridges to swivel causes makes contraction weaker, reducing the likelihood that sufficient blood will be pumped. The progression of heart failure continues as blood accumulates.
• Built-up blood in the left ventricle causes a backup of blood throughout the pulmonary circuit, leading to pulmonary congestion. This associated congestion is responsible for left heart failure, also known as “congestive heart failure.”
• Blood build up in the lungs causes difficulty breathing, especially when a person is reclining. Pulmonary congestion also reduces the ability to oxygenate the blood, worsening systemic hypoxia.
• The progressive nature of congestive heart failure, if untreated, ultimately causes death.