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Information and public services for the Island of Jersey

L'înformâtion et les sèrvices publyis pouor I'Île dé Jèrri

Shortage in acid reflux medication

25 October 2019

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Islanders who take ranitidine - a medicine used to treat conditions such as stomach ulcers and acid reflux – are being reassured that alternatives are available.

This is because it is likely to be in short supply in the coming weeks after products made for the UK market were quarantined.

Regulators have quarantined supplies of ranitidine after a contaminant - a potential carcinogen - was found within the medicine. The drug was quarantined at the time of production and has not made it into general circulation.

Island doctors and pharmacists have been notified of the issue and given guidance on how to manage the shortage.

More than 1,700 islanders are prescribed ranitidine and they are asked to contact their GP for review and to discuss alternatives if ongoing treatment is necessary. Some patients who have been taking the drug for a long time may be able to stop taking a medicine altogether while others may be able to be prescribed an alternative drug.

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