Acid reflux in babies or children(symptoms and treatment)

     Acid reflux disease or heartburn or GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) is one of the commonest gastro intestinal complications today. It's a disease that affects not only adult people but also most of babies and children.

   In babies, acid reflux is due to a poorly coordinated gastrointestinal tract. Many infants have another problems too: their nerves, brain or muscles are affected. Others with the condition might be healthy. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse, most infants grow out of GERD by the time they are 1 year old. Older children also can have GERD. For these children, the causes for GERD seen in adults are the same.

    The acids produced in the stomach are pushed into the esophagus causing a sensation of heart burn.Obesity, overeating, junk and fatty foods, some beverages, and specific medications are factors that contribute to GERD, in children and in adults also. In some families, children seems to inherite component to GERD from their parents.
The  typical symptoms of GERD in babies and children are the same:Heartburn, gas, abdominal pain, or colicky behavior (frequent crying and fussiness), frequent vomiting, frequent cough or wheezing, children have difficulty in eating or sometimes they even refuse to eat. Another symptoms can be found as a potential blame of GERD:breathing problems,recurrent pneumonia,colics.However, they are some measures that parents can take for their kids before consulting a doctor and they can relief baby's (children) acid reflux: The infant must be hold upright for 30 minutes after a feeding.With a doctor's supervision, parents can change feeding schedules and try solid food or thicken bottle feedings with cereal. The older children have to be kept also upright for at least two hours after eating.Instead of two or three large meals on a day, the child must have several small meals throughout the day.Foods and beverages that seem to worsen the acid reflux must be limited. Parents can encourage their child to get regular exercise after every meal. If the acid reflux doesn't get better, the advice of the doctor will be necessary in taking an appropriate treatment. Medication recommended is drugs to lessen gas in babies and children as Gaviscon or drugs to neutralize or decrease stomach acid as proton-pump inhibitors or Histamine-2 (H2) blockers. For the most part these medicines are very safe but taken at high doses, they can cause some side effects, such as diarrhea or may be associated with an increased risk of rickets (thinning of the bones).  Another side effect from these medications could be sleepiness.

 So, don't try these drogs on your children without a medical advice. The doctor might also recommend you some drugs to improve intestinal coordination as Propulsid, a very effective one. This drog is still available with very limited access because it was voluntarily withdrawn from the market in 2000. It works by reducing esophageal exposure to stomach contents while increasing the pressure of the lower esophageal sphincter. A side effect of this drog might be abnormal heart rhythms.Surgery isn't often needed to treat acid reflux in infants and children. It is a procedure usually effective, but not without risks. When it is necessary, the parents have to discuss the potential risks and benefits of this operation with theirchild's doctor. The procedure consists of wrapping around the top part of the stomac so that   the esophagus forming a cuff that contracts and closes off the esophagus whenever the stomach contracts -- preventing reflux. But it's better to prevent then to take these drastical measures so let's feed healthy our children!