Experience With Acid Reflux in Infants


by Rich Fuller - Date: 2007-02-05 - Word Count: 464 Share This!

A problem that commonly affects babies and young children is acid reflux. I have two children who were both inflicted from birth with the ailment, and it was hard to accept with the first child. I never wanted any baby of mine to have any pain, and as a parent you feel like you should be able to do something to protect them. The last thing on earth you want to be told is that your child has some sort of illness! Our daughter's pediatrician informed us of how common the problem is amongst babies and that there are several medicines that will be able to provide relief.

If the muscles at the base of the esophagus don't effectively keep the stomach content down, the acid burns and causes indigestion as it rises back up. The reason babies have it quiet often is because their muscles haven't fully developed and are therefore not strong enough for the job. The symptoms will most often appear after eating or when they are laying down. Common signs that your child could have acid reflux are constant vomiting after a feed, crying and arching their back in pain, restless sleep and possibly even going off their food.

Babies who have acid reflux most often need medication. Mylanta is good as a first point of call, but if a few drops in a dropper don't help then a prescription will probably be needed. Acid reducing medications such as Zantac and Prevacid are produced for children, and when taken, they experience almost instant relief. There are fantastic new versions of the medications that are water soluble so they can be easily added to milk or given directly for rapid relief. Only use a medicine that has been advised by your doctor.

In my children's cases, small doses of Mylanta along with a prescription for Prevacid did the trick. The Mylanta can be purchased without a prescription and has a soothing effect in the esophagus and ling of the stomach. It is great for relieving signs of indigestion like acid burping, chest pain and mild spit ups. The Prevacid works instantly from the time it hits their mouths at reducing the production of stomach acid to almost nil. Both of my children outgrew their acid reflux by the time they were twelve months old and have maintained perfect health since, with no side effects from the medication whatsoever. As soon as the conditions were diagnosed and the medicines were taken, the whole family experienced relief. They fed better, vomited a lot less, slept through the night and had a better all round dispositions. I firmly believe that quickly resolving their acid reflux has contributed to them being such happy children, and had we not used the medication prescribed, the whole family would have suffered!


Related Tags: acid reflux, acid reflux symptoms, children acid reflux

Learn more about acid reflux treatment on our site. You'll also find other information such as esophageal erosion and eating diet with acid reflux. TreatAcidReflux.org is a comprehensive resource to help individuals with acid reflux disease to identify symptoms, prevention and treatment options.

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