Could taking anti acids cause food poisoning?

I often get acid reflux and want to reach for my Anti Acids but I am worried as stomach acid kills bacteria so if I take them am I not open to leaving myself open to infections from food carrying a food bug?

I don't see this warning on the packets?

But I imagine a high acid would kill most food bacteria and a low one would not?

Am I wrong?

and what role does stomach flora play in all this?

Your saliva is capable of killing most bacteria, and your stomach acid just helps by killing off the rest. For that reason, the small pH changes from taking antacids (like Tums, etc...) don't really have a measurable effect on increased bacterial infections.

"Food poisoning" refers to the bacteria contaminating the food, or if the bacteria had been killed off, the leftover toxins it produced. So by that definition, no they do not cause food poisoning. The side effects of antacids are more from if you're taking handfuls of it daily for weeks/months at a time where you can range anywhere from constipation to confusion/delirium as a rare and severe side effect, but you have to be taking bottles a day to reach that point.

Antacids are really safe to use, and are actually a good Calcium supplement as well. If you're having heartburn multiple times a week, you need to start altering your diet, because the constant stomach acid going up into your throat (ie esophagus) can eventually lead to some major damage and changes in the tissue. If the diet is changed and you're still having symptoms a few times a week, see a doctor because that's a sign it is uncontrolled or that there is an underlying infection/stomach ulcer causing the pain.

Hope this helps

No.

Just go see a doctor already if your stomach is still refusing to work together with you.

My father has Acid Reflux. How much carbonated drinks do you have on average?

To answer the first question:  No, it won't.
Here's an interesting extract that I found on the web.  Source link is below.

Bacteria that are not killed by acid, that in fact love to live in an acidic environment, is Helicobacter pylori. As you can imagine they live in the stomach which is their natural niche. However, most bacteria do not like acidity and will suffer. So how can so many infectious organisms pass the stomach? first of all, you should know that the acidity of the stomach is not constant. A full stomach, just after a big meal, finished with a huge glass of milk may be hardly acidic, and is nothing compared to an empty, hungry stomach, ready for food. So bacteria 'sneek in' with the food. Then the question is, how many bacteria do you swallow, and how many of those are killed in the stomach. An egg with Salmonella in it could easily harbor a million times a million organisms. By cooking (but not through) you may have reduced that to 100,000 organisms. The stomach may kill 99%, still leaving 1000 organisms. That is sufficient for an enteritis.
It all depends on the infectious dose of a particular organism. Which organisms are succesful to survive the stomach? exactly those that cause gastrointestinal diseases. Salmonella, E.coli, Shigella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Bacillus species, Vibrio cholerae, to name a few.

http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/mole00/mole00179.htm

SoL@R : For future reference, you are supposed to summon local mods to ignore your word count if you make that large of a copy/paste post. I won't do it for you. I'll let you do it.

SoL@R :

This is mostly correct, but just as an FYI for anyone interested, I'll clarify a few things.

H. pylori is a bacteria that can live in the stomach and can be found in ulcers (cuts/lesions/wounds in the stomach lining). They actually are killed by acid itself, but protects itself from acid by making an enzyme to neutralize the pH (called urease), as well as attaching to one another to make a "biofilm" as protection, and burrowing into the stomach lining where it isn't as acidic-hence causing the stomach ulcers.

If a person is found to have stomach ulcers and H. pylori is found in the ulcers, an antacid  bismuth salicylate (aka Pepto Bismol) is combined with antibiotics to both help kill the infection and promote wound healing.

So short answer, taking Tums for heartburn will NOT cause an H. pylori infection.

rcarter2: Apologies.  Forgot about the copy/paste thing.  I'm used to some other forums allowing this kind of thing-within certain boundaries of course.  I'll use my own words next time so that I'll look clever Oh yeah, ignore my word count please.

@mikez913 - Thanks for the extra interesting info.