I have a friend who binges and purches often, what can I get that will protect h!

I have a friend who binges and purches often, what can I get that will protect her throat from stomach acid?

Ok I have a close friend who has clinical depression and uses eating as a source of comfort aside from her normal sources. On the flip side she is also a dietetic major in college and is very attractive and health conscious; she works out a lot too. Lately, her binging as been getting out of hand. I am trying to arrange for her get professional help. In the mean time, however, is there any kind of over the counter medicine I can buy that will help fight any digestive acids that come up? Anything to help protect her esophagus. I realise that this situation is not going to be cured over night so I need to find something to at least help counter-balance and negative physical side affects from digestive acids in the mean time. Thanks for you help!

While there are herbals which claim to reduce acidity of stomach juices (like meadowsweet, see the link below), you will never get it to the point where it will not be harmful. You can equate her problem with that of people who suffer from GERD (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease), or Acid Reflux. They worry about esophageal erosion, which can cause ulcers, or even esophageal cancer. Really, the only way to help heal the erosion is to stop the acid, for them, with medications (Prilosec, etc) or surgery.

The best option is to get her help quickly. I know that's not a big help, but there really aren't many options. And providing her medications which she thinks will protect her esophagus could be seen as a crutch, making her more reluctant to seek professional help. So while your intentions may be good, they may be counter-productive in the long run.

Good luck