Question

Why are metal hydroxide better alternatives than sodium hydrogen carbonate in antacids?

Answer 1

Antacids are effective medicines used for heartburn, nothing but gastric problems. A lot of metal hydroxides, metal carbonates and metal bicarbonates are used as antacids to reduce the gastric problems. Sodium hydrogen carbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide and aluminium hydroxide are the general antacids available in the market.

Complete step by step answer:
- In the question it was asked why metal hydroxides are better alternatives than sodium hydrogen carbonate.
- Generally metal hydroxides are not soluble means insoluble in water. So, metal hydroxide does not change the pH in the stomach but neutralizes the acid produced in the stomach.
- But sodium hydrogen carbonate nothing but sodium bicarbonate is soluble in water and creates an alkaline medium (pH is greater than 7) in the stomach then it triggers the production of more acid in the stomach leads to more problems.

- So, metal hydroxides are better antacids than sodium hydrogen carbonate.

Additional information:
- Sodium hydrogen carbonate is a weak base and short-acting antacid available but the disadvantage is high sodium content.
- By over usage of sodium hydrogen carbonate creates an imbalance in the body normal pH range.
- Magnesium hydroxide is also called as milk of magnesia commonly used antacid and does not interact with the intestine.

Note: Don’t be confused with the names Sodium hydrogen carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Both are the same. The molecular formula of sodium hydrogen carbonate is $NaHC{{O}_{3}}$ . The metal hydroxides used as antacids are $Mg{{(OH)}_{2}},Al{{(OH)}_{3}}$ .