Reflux Question/Issue

My 14 month old had reflux and she was on medicine until about 7 or 8 months. She still spits up to this day, but it doesn't bother her. I have asked my ped about it and she said that it's normal for kids of this age to spill spit up. I would say start reducing the amount of medicine and see how he reacts. If his spit-up doesn't bother him, then I think it's safe to go medicine free. He could just be a "happy spitter" at this point. :)

I would definitely chat with your pediatrician for advice. My daughter has reflux and takes Prevacid solutabs. There is a difference between a puky baby and acid reflux although they can go together. If he has trouble with pain sleeping flat, reflux probably and meds are best plus a wedge. If it is constant barfing more so than pain, it could be nothing or maybe something else. My thoughts are if they aren't in pain, gaining weight properly, pooping regularly, just keep that spit rag handy at all times. There is never any harm in calling the nurse's line for advice!

My 17 month old is still spitting up. I think he was on medication for reflux at a very young age but I stopped giving it to him because I could tell it was making him even more uncomfortable.And it wasnt working anyways. I never took him back for that reason because I didnt want him to go on anything for it either. I now think when he spits up it is more so from a full belly then anything else. He to will spit up in he squats for too long or bends over to fast. Usually though it is after a meal. The other day He shared so cup of noodle with me right after having like a small four iunce bottle and I heard behind me what sounded like him spitting up and sure enough there were milky noodles on the floor this is the only instance that I knew he wasnt full but it happened and then shortly there after I picked him up and he spit up more noodle so this was the only time i thought heartburn...I remember my older son after eating like calmchowder and what not at about 18 months would still spit it up to now that i think about it. My thought is...if your pedi office does a fifteen month check up i would address it then with your doc. Mine does only an 18 month check up so i think ill bring it up with him them cause now you have me wondering??

I'm curious what medicine they are on. My experience is that when I have acid reflux it's because I do NOT have enough digestive enzymes to break down my food, so what happens is that the food backs up the esophagus.

Young kids may have the same problem. If you can give them lemonade without ill effects, salad with vinegar, that can help solve the acid reflux problem IF they are low on acid. Most MDs only prescribe "Medicine" that removes acid. Then the problem is they become nutritionally deficient.

hi
I have a seven year old who in the last year has bile coming up once in a while and chronic stomach "knife" pain with one bite of food. I have done lots of research and went to the gastrointestinal doc to see an exray of constipation all the way as full as it can go. I had to deal with that first then the pinworms...then the staff infection in his nose all the while the pain.....
I think the medication messes with pepsin production and will constantly be tipping the scales between too much or too little stomach acid and he got diareah . My nutritionist believes it to be a pathenogen- like a parasite causing the unbalance.
.
I do beieve small children grow thru it like a developmental stage and making it easy for everyone is the way to go. Consider the condition to be like a sickness and it will pass once their bodies stresses are alieviated
currently we are taking a pill form of licorice root and slippery elm mixed with other digestive aids from a company called biolab and I'm treating the staff like infection with a liquid iodine suppliment. a good Probiotics for months will reestablish good flora in the intestines-I know iknow -stay away from wheat chocalate
that's where I am
good luck

Boy do I know about spitty babies! That seems to be the only way I know how to breed them:)

I've had 3 babies in 3 years and all of them have been bad spitters, however my son (middle baby) was by far the worst. He had reflux and spit up so much people who watched him in the nursery at church would hand him back to me practically in tears because of how much he spit up when he was there. I had warned them but they had never seen anything like it!
So I commiserate with you on this issue!

However, I wish I had known then what I know now. I just recently discovered a natural remedy that has really helped with my 5 month old daughter's reflux & eczema. She was covered in red splotches so the doctor said to slather on the petroleum jelly, but that ultimately, there was nothing that could really be done! A friend of mine told me about hazelwood necklaces and ointments that had dramaticaly helped her son’s reflux (she was able to take him off Zantac within 2 weeks of him wearing it).
Apparently, the hazelwood (wood from a hazelnut tree) has the property of absorbing excess acid(which is the root cause of many problems including reflux & eczema) in your body when the wood is against your skin.
I was really skeptical but I decided to buy a necklace and give it a try. Within 2 weeks, my daughter's eczema was all but gone. She also doesn’t spit up nearly as much anymore (she used to spit up so much that we had to have a pocket bib to catch it all) All she has left are a few dry spots, but nothing like before! I have been so amazed by this product that I decided to make them available to other moms here since they are not commonly available in the US (these necklaces come from Canada) and could help so many people!

I know it's hard to believe that wearing a necklace could help so much, but when you're facing the potential of harsh meds, it's definitely worth a try, especially since they are inexpensive!
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see my baby daughter's skin soft and smooth and not all blotchy and red...there are no words!

If you’re interested, check out www.hazelaid.com

I really hope this is as helpful for you as it was for me.

S. (mom to Kate 3 ½, Ben 23 months, Emma 6 months)

Seen this time after time. Dip the babies binky in XanGo each time you use the binky. If you can, use a measurement syringe and put 5 ml in his mouth to swallow. read about it at sevenstarlife.com

D. b

I have this problem myself, occationally. I go to my holistic chropractic doctor, Dr. Cynowa at Total Health. She adjusts my stomach. Then I'm fine for a long time, usually several months. This might help. It would be worth checking out. My insurance even covers it. I have blue Cross blue shield and Dr. C is a PPO.

Good Luck

Sounds to me like it could be a couple of things. If the child is over-full or constipated it could spit up like that. You could simply introduce apple, pear or prune juice... one ounce of juice to 3 ounces of water each day.... (even twice a day if necessary). Kids are prone to dehydration as the weather warms up. They can get miserable if they are on formula.
Or it could be like my children and they don't have a enzyme in their digestive system to break down milk proteins or soy proteins... They will cry a lot because of the pain. You might need to try different formulas... we ended up on Nutramigen. I had breast fed for the first couple of months and was told he was colicy and would grow out of it.... wrong.. at 3 mo he went on isomel... gained weight but still was in pain... At six months the dr. FINALLY suggested this other formula.... OMG, He started sleeping, got less and less fussy... within a few days he was sleeping happily like a baby ought to... I didn't understand why until my fourth or fifth child... But one of their problems was spitting up... sometimes projectile vomiting depending on the formula. I did the elimination diet deal too. Trying to take completly out of my diet milk, eggs, wheat... One pat of butter or french fries that were milk coated, or who knew what.. would send them off. It is very hard to eliminate all the possible allergens out of ones diet... but I tried. I was down to eating brown rice and lamb. Some of these foods (milk, eggs,wheat) can exaberate eczema too. So if you are breast feeding you might try taking things out of your diet.. If you are bottle feeding you could try a different formula... sometimes it takes a few days to see the difference. Just some ideas I used with my seven children. Blessings, L.

Reflux? I have heard a lot of women speaking of this and I am totally out of touch.
Is the child breast feed of bottled feed?
Reason I ask is this.
Back in the 70's I had a 6 week old child I was caring for that was breast feed. Mom weened him because she was going on a trip and I was to care for him. (Why she didn't continue to pump I don't have the answer for) Anyway, he was with me and I would feed him his bottle and he would just finish and throw up clear across the room. I believe the doctor called it projectial vomiting. He cried and cried, and I would give him more formula and the same thing would happen . I called the doctor because it was to the point whatever went in came back out. The doctor asked if there was any breast milk available ( turns out I had my 3 month old I was nursing). Gave him breast milk and it stopped. His mother had to go to a breast bank to get milk after that but he never had the problem again.

Now they are giving pills?
By the way, I see you say spitting up? If your child is just spitting up it could be a simple burp.
Kids can spit up if on their stomachs and their stomach is full of milk, can happen to adults as well we just know not to lay down and push on it?
Feed him a little less and don't worry so much about it, if he is barfing up everything he is eating then check out everything he is eating, don't just resort to pills.

I would try a baby friendly chiropractor and Gripe water before any meds. Much reflux is caused from needing an adjustment (lets face it, birth is h*** o* the spine which has alot to do with digestion) and Gripe water is awesome for tummy ailments of any sort. (I like Baby's Bliss sold at Walgreen's or Whole Foods) My babies needed burping until they weaned (13 months for my oldest, and my baby is 12 months and still needs to be burped after nursing). Keeping baby upright after feeding helps. For adults, drinking aloe vera juice can help heal the inflamed esophagus and peppermint tea can be soothing and healing. Also feeding in smaller quantities more often can be good. Hope this helps.

Hey T.,

Here's an interesting website about GER and GERD it's dealing with adults mostly, but there's a good section regarding children part way down.

http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gerd/

One very common cause of true reflux in babies and toddlers is a milk insensitivity or allergy. It's definitely worth it to discuss this with your son's pediatrician. They can do testing for various allergies.
Let us know what you decide and how it works out!!!

D. Rylander
A Blessed Birth Doula Services
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____@____.com

Regarding medication, I would ask the pediatrician. But for babies with reflux of any age, check out Baby Chaleco performance wear, amazing little tops with waterproof protection built right in. They work so much better than bibs and they look great too. You can get them online at www.babychaleco.com

My son is 2 now and is still on his med for the reflux. Our ped and the gastro doc have us every few months just trying to take him off and see what happens to his symptoms. My son does not spit up so much his problem is at night when it is coming up and the burning. We have him now at a point that we give him his med (prevacid) every other night. It seems to be controlling the reflux and he is not waking up screaming in pain. I would talk to your doc about every other day then try going off and if things get bad again you can always go back on it. We always can tell with in a week that he is not ready.
Hope this helps!

T., I am not a doctor but I am a pharmacy Tech, we see a lot of medication go over the counter for Gerd/Acid reflex. I have been wondering about this myself. I came up with Gerd about 7 years ago and still on medication I had lost almost 20 pounds in one month and the Doctor ordered a scope of the stomach and found the acid was burning esophagus, he put me on medication then and I still am on it. The best person to see would be a gastroenterologist, for children. I wonder if it something in our environment, or what; there just seems to be a lot of people with this problem, adults and children. Hope this helps

Hi T.... I am a first time mom to a beautiful little boy who is 2 years old. He has been diagonsed with acid reflux. He has had a pucking problem since birth. They never knew what was wrong with him. They tried zantax (sp) and omepersol (sp) for him, and he would take them but only for a short time, because they were too sweet, minty, and burned going down, or just plan nasty. We just had a barium xray, that traumatized him. Just to get an answer of Acid reflux. Now he is on previcid solutab... i have to disolve that in water and disguise it.. Anyhow, I still am cleaning throw up a couple times a week, because of his acid reflux. He has really sensitive gag reflexs as well. I am not sure if there is a point to this other than I know what your going through, and I guess you could try taking your little one off, but I'd wait a little bit longer untill he is a little bit older.

So reflux is what they call it, huh? Both my boys were "fire-hose" babies. They hosed the floor, the couch, their clothes and me with milk and even solids when they were older. It was yucky, we all stunk like cheese! But my boys never seemed to suffer any discomfort, and they both gained weight wonderfully (obviously, they were keeping down more than they were harfing up). We called it "effortless puking," because they would just harf and smile, not a probelm for them!!! In fact we nicknamed one of our boys Mr. Puke-and-Play. I am not a medicating mama, so it never crossed my mind to do anything other than just have everything steam cleaned when each boy turned two. If your son is not uncomfortable or in pain, I would say, just live with the icky inconvenience until he outgrows it rather than risk any possible side effects that always comes with any medication.