85 year old male made it a habit to take the otc tums everyday. is it safe taking the tums everyday? or occasional pantoprazole is better for acid etc?

Taking Tums will not do any harm, unless the person has kidney stones. Otherwise, in addition to relieving heartburn Tums is a good source of calcium.

It is difficult to state how many tums, which contain calcium, is too much.because of different strengths. The best policy is to follow the instructions on the bottle. If he's having very frequent heartburn he should be evaluated by a gastroenterologist to find the cause. Rather than take a PPI type medication as needed, I recommend using famotidine that way.