Infant Acid Reflux Disease Should Not Be Left Untreated
Posted by Charles · Leave a Comment
Is it difficult to feed your newborn because they are constantly spitting up? Do not assume it is completely normal to do this as they may have infant acid reflux disease. It could cause some serious health problems if you do not attend to it and result in slow growth or even malnutrition.
Infant acid reflux can be terribly painful and uncomfortable for a baby to bear because of the acids which cause irritation in the baby’s throat. This is typically caused when there is too much pressure in the abdomen of a full baby. Any bit of crying and coughing after feeding can cause that pressure to push the baby’s stomach acid up toward the throat.
Infant Acid Reflux Symptoms
There are several symptoms to be on the lookout for with infant acid reflux. These are chocking, vomiting, overly drooling, trouble swallowing, and loss of weight, food aversions, hoarse sounding voice and persistent ear infections.
While these may be the common signs, there are a few infants who do not spit up with the condition. This is because they swallow the acids. This may not be too troublesome to the infant, but it still can lead to serious esophageal damage and irritation. There is a ‘ph probe’ which can detect infant acid reflux in these cases.
There are specific tests that can be done to properly diagnose an infant with the disorder. The barium test is where an infant swallows a small amount of barium. The chemical then shows how exactly food is passing through the baby. The downside is that the child needs to be experiencing infant acid reflux during the test for it to show up. There is also a radioactive solution the baby can swallow which is visible by through x-rays. There is also and endoscope to see the tract the food takes as it passes through the infant.
What You Can Do
A thickened formula is the most effective cure for infant acid reflux. Adding infant cereal to the food is one way to do this. Holding the baby more upright during feeding is also necessary. You may also want to keep the baby upright for a while after feeding while he is still full, even when diaper changing, rather than lying him on his back. Frequent burps will also decrease episodes of infant acid reflux. Feeding the baby smaller meals throughout the day will also help.
It is also recommended that one breastfeeds, as this will keep infant acid reflux symptoms at bay and cut down on the spitting up the baby does. A mother’s breast milk is naturally filled with the essential nutrients for that child. Also, formula can lead to issues such as constipation which can happen if you have to give the child medication. There are medications your pediatrician can prescribe to ease the baby’s pain and discomfort though. Always strictly follow dosage guidelines and potential side effects when dealing with any infant medications. The side effects can be worse than the actual condition if you are not careful.
Once you believe your baby may be suffering from infant acid reflux, seek help immediately. A baby will not be able to explain why they are uncomfortable; you just need to be aware and patient enough to meet their needs.
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