Ranitidin Drug Withdrawal Facts

For those of you who suffer from gastric disorders, such as peptic ulcers, gastritis, or acid reflux disease, it may be familiar again with ranitidine drugs. But lately, there has been a lot of coverage disturbing regarding withdrawal of ranitidine drugs. Why is the drug now being taken off the market?

Ranitidine is a drug used to treat symptoms of stomach pain or heartburn due to increased stomach acid. If left untreated, this excessive amount of stomach acid can eventually lead to a variety of diseases, ranging from heartburn, peptic ulcers, gastric acid disease (GERD), to Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Ranitidin Drug Withdrawal Facts

Ranitidine drug works by inhibiting the production of stomach acid, so that the wound in the stomach will slowly heal. In addition to treating, ranitidin also acts to prevent the appearance of symptoms of indigestion due to consuming certain foods or drinks that can increase stomach acid.

Reasons for Ranitidine Drug Withdrawn from Distribution

On September 17, 2019, the Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) gave instructions to the entire pharmaceutical and pharmacy industries holding a product distribution permit to stop the production, distribution, and withdrawal of all ranitidine drug products in circulation.

This is a follow-up to the warnings issued by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) which found a dangerous content in ranitidine, which is the compound N - nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA). At certain levels, this compound is known to potentially increase cancer risk.

Actually, NDMA compounds are harmless as long as they are within the safe limit, which is below 96 nanograms per day. However, the results of tests of some ranitidine drug brand samples indicate the amount of NDMA exceeds this limit. If NDMA exceeds the safe limit for continuous consumption over a long period of time, the risk of formation of cancer cells will be even higher.

Until now, BPOM still continues to test some ranitidine drugs circulating in Indonesia. This action is taken to further study and ensure the safety of ranitidine drugs.

If you have already taken ranitidine, you don't need to worry about responding to this, because the risk of cancer only occurs if ranitidine is used continuously in the long run.

In addition, cancer does not only occur due to the use of ranitidine. Many other factors can cause a person to develop cancer, such as smoking, unhealthy eating patterns, frequent consumption of alcoholic beverages, exposure to cancer-causing substances from the environment, even hereditary factors.

Although BPOM has withdrawn the drug ranitidine, there are still several drug options and treatments that can be done to overcome gastric problems.

If you have previously been prescribed ranitidine by a doctor and are worried about the possible side effects that can be caused, you can consult back to the doctor to replace the drug with other drugs.

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