Use of Zantac in Infants

My pediatrician reccomended the same thing for my 4 week old we were also told to mix 1 tablespoon of rice cereal for each ounce of formula. It worked wonderful. My son did not spit up nearly as much and started to gain weight wonderfully. By 9 months we no longer needed to use it. Good Luck.

We used it when my son was about a month old until he was about 6 months old. It didn't help with the spitting up but it really helped him to be able to eat better. He would scream every time he ate because of the reflux. So he still spit up like crazy but at least he wasn't in pain.

Hi J.,

I used Zantac on my son when he was 4 months old. It helped a little but I think the reflux is something he just started to outgrow once we introduced solid foods. The zantac didn't cause any adverse reactions or anything, I just don't feel that it helped to much. Good luck :-) M.

we have used it before. I didn't feel it helped my daughter but that doesn't mean it won't help yours. Acid Reflux is a nasty thing for kids to have so I would be open to anything your dr suggests. Good luck!

My ped prescribed Zantac for my son when he was 2 months old because Connor was spitting up everything he ate and not gaining weight. He was also fussy and cranky all the time from the acid reflux. He hated the taste of the meds, but they were a wonderful help and he eventually got used to it. He took Zantac twice a day until he was 6 months old and then whenever he seemed to be having heartburn. He was completely done with it by the end of 7 months. The meds were a lifesaver for Connor. Where before he had been cranky and fussy most of the time, he became this wonderful happy baby. We were actually able to go most days without a single bib on him after we started the meds. Until, of course he started teething and became a drool factory :) Our ped also recommended a slanted sleep positioner for the crib and keeping him upright for 20 mins after he was done eating.

My now 6 yr old took it for about a year and it was the best thing for him. I often wonder why parents go to their doctor to ask advice for how to treat something and then don't want to follow their recommendations and instead ask other mommies. I know it's difficult giving medicine to your child, but it will not hurt him and most likely will help him. Let me know how you feel when he's projectile vomiting and not gaining weight and refusing to eat or nurse. Reflux can lead to damage if not treated. You'll be glad you did and your child will be much happier.

Hi J.,
We had a nasty incident that involved an incompetent Dr. hospitalizing our daughter for what turned out to be acid reflux when she was 9 days old. When we finally had my daughter in for a follow-up with her regular doctor (this is a doctor I trust very much), he had also recommended using zantac, but only if other non-medicinal methods weren't helping. If you nurse, this is one case where you will want to keep your diet mild )easy on the sauce, no crazy mexican dishes...). if you use formula, switch to a mild one. We had to use formula for a few weeks, and we used Nestle Good Start. Actually, it was the one she kept down best.
When you feed your child, make sure that she is fairly upright, burp OFTEN during feedings, and when you put the baby to sleep, have her slightly propped up. we did this by stuffing blankets underneath the pad in her bassinette and using a sleep positioner so she wouldn't slouch or roll. And we kept the bassinette by our bed.
This worked for us, but had it not, I probably would have used the zantac. If you do use it, make sure that your doctor is prescribing the right dosage by monitoring your child and calling your doctor to adjust it if need be.
I hope this helps. been there and it isn't fun, but thankfully the worst passes by fast.

I used it on my twims and it worked great. They only needed it for a few weeks and then we were able to take them off and live a normal spitup free existence. My one twin needed to go back on it later for a few more weeks and then again was back to normal.

J.,

Our son was on baby Zantac at 5 weeks until 4 months. Its the only thing that kept the bottle down. We would give him Zantac, then rock him as he ate the bottle, burped him ALOT during the bottle. The sucking and swallowing with the pacifier helped alot too. We never laid him flat or he would spit up almost everything. He slept in the car seat the first four months. It was not easy. We had hours at a time of screaming in pain. The Zantac really helped. I'm expecting my second and hope he doesn't have reflux.

Good Luck! I found alot of great support groups online!

I personally never used it for my daughter, but my niece needed it. She had acid reflux really bad. It helped a great deal. The other thing that her parents did was prop her mattress up slightly so that she wasn't laying completely flat while sleeping. That also helped.

I used the same thing with my daughter for GERD. It does help. Also as soon as you're done feeding your baby don't lay them down. Put him/her in a swing or hold in an inclined position for 15 to 20 minutes or longer to help the milk/formula settle. Hope this helps, Good luck!

Hey Jen, we had to use Zantac on our daughter when she was about 4-5 weeks old until she was about 1. It was the best thing that we did and im glad we did it. She of course doenst need it anymore she is now 2 1/2. I tryed those Mylacon drops too, they were ok but the Zantac really did the job. Good luck with your desicion.
S.

My son was premature and it seemed everytime I turned around there was something else wrong. From being in and out of hospitals. I was getting tired.. When I had, had my 2month checkup with his doctor, he had just thought I wasn't that concerned, well he ended up in the middle of the night chocking on the stuff because he couldn't swallow all the way down laying down. I freaked out. He had stopped breathing for a few seconds, well finally the he went to the hospital (again) and was put on a machine that had seen where the reflux was coming and how much was coming. The had giving him zantac and it worked... I hated the fact of giving him medicine that early, but it's better then him choking on the refux. It will even stop upset stomachs to...

Hi J.,

My first son (now 2 1/2) was on Zantac for almost a year of his life. I loved it. At 4 weeks old, he would scream in pain for hours even during feedings. We tried changing his formula 7 times and other non medicinal options before trying zantac. The zantac was immediate relief for him once we put him on it. I felt so bad putting him through that pain for so long when all he needed was the zantac for his reflux.
My second son (5 1/2 months old) also has reflux, but zantac didn't help him. Hie is on pepcid. I do not think he will need it as long though. Neither meds completely elliminated the spit up, but the painful crying and acid spit up was gone.
I truely believe in both medicines b/c they gave me happy babies finally. It is worth a try.

My daughter is 2 mon and she is on zantac and Reglan for her reflux problem. I think the medicine works really well. She was throwing up sometimes and even spit up some stomach acid a couple of times. I have seen a difference. But if you are unsure about the medication here are a few tips you might try. Elevate the matress and try to sit your child up for about 15 to 20 mins about they eat. Well I hope this helps let me know if you have anymore questions about it. ____@____.com

My son was diagnoised w/ acid reflux when he was around 3-4 months old. He was on zantac from then until he was a year old and out grew the condition. It worked wonders! Before he was diagnoised he would eat and be miserable afterwards. He would cry and my husband and I could't figure out what was wrong. It was awful!After he started the zantac - he was a different baby! Very happy & content after he ate. There were no side effects and when he turnd a year old the doctor told us to just stop giving it to him & see how he did. He did fine and we were able to stop giving it to him. Our son is now three and has no problem w/ reflux at all. I highly recomend it. Good luck!

Good morning,my son that is ten now had reflux and back then they didnt give you anything they told you to use ceral in every bottle and that make baby's so fat but it did help, i also have a 14 month old daughter and she also has reflux and she is on zantac and i thank god they found something that is safe for kids. She does great on it and it helps. Its a good thing you should try it!!!!!!!!!!1

thanks trish

My 11 month old has had reflux since she was born. It was finally diagnosed at four months, and we started Zantac. It really helped a lot with her pain--the constant screaming subsided substantially, but she continued to spit up. At her nine-month well check, she had flattened out on her growth chart for both height and weight. She had an upper GI study done, and the only abnormality found was the reflux. I believe she was just not keeping enough food down. The more we fed her, the more she spit up.

We then started Prilosec, and it has been wonderful. She is not in any pain or discomfort AND the spitting has all but subsided. She may spit a tiny bit every few days or so, but nothing like before. I would certainly give the Zantac a try and see how it works for you. Just keep an eye on the frequency/amount of spit up and your child's growth.

Things that help--keeping the baby upright for 1/2 hour or so after eating, sleeping on an incline, swaddling (the pressure on the belly helps). We found the Miracle Blanket to be really helpful--it is the only thing that put our daughter to sleep (www.miracleblanket.com). Please feel free to contact me with any questions. I've been through a tough first year with a reflux/milk allergy baby, and I've lived to tell about it! I'm always willing to help another mother so she does not have to go through all the guess work I did. Best of luck!

J., I cringe when I hear of a doctor prescribing chemical substances to an infant! Ugh! Please check your child for allergies, if you are nursing it could be something you ate, if the baby is on formula....it could be an allergy to something in that.......reflux is more often a food allergy. I know, I suffered for years until I got allergy tested and found that all my GI issues since I was 5 years of age wetre food related. I am a new person. Please look into other options before putting toxic chemical substances into your child. E.

Hi, our ped. prescriped zantac as well at about the same age. I have to say it didn't really seem to do anything so we stopped and (I'm not sure if your nursing) I simply changed my diet. I cut out dairy and the spitting up almost completley stopped. If your not nursing I would try changing his formula first - perhaps to soy. At that age I think its really hard to tell if its colic or reflux. I

Hi, J.! My three year old son was on Zantac for his entire first year, and it did make a small difference. What helped us more than anything was having him sleep on an inclined surface, and watching what I ate while breastfeeding. I'm certainly not opposed to Zantac after our experience with it, but also not incredibly impressed either. My suggestion, if you do go ahead with the prescription, is to ask your pharmacist to add flavoring to the syrup. I hadn't heard about the option of having it flavored until a few weeks before I stopped giving my son Zantac, and I felt terrible! The Zantac burns a bit itself while it's going down, and has a strong and almost minty scent/flavor. My poor little guy gagged every time we gave him a dose, and I've heard from other moms that having the pharmacist add a bit of flavoring helps a great deal. Good luck!

HI!My son was born 7 weeks premature and at the age 3 months he was spitting up. The doctor had changed his formula 3 times and then they put him on zantac and put him on cereal. For every 2 oz we had to put 1 tsp of cereal in his bottle. Between the 2 by the time he was eating regular food he was alot better. I would put your son on the zantac and the cereal/it really does work. WHen you get the zantac you may want to have it flavored it really doesn't taste or smell to good. I hope everything works out for you.

Hello, My daughter's peditrician put her on it as well. She did wonderfully with it, the dosage was .4ml three times a day-of course when we got-we got it flavored for her and she didn't mind taken it. She was on it for a little while and then she was fine and we took her off it when we thought she was fine and hasn't had a problem since, I think she just out grew it but the acid reflux was bothering her with a burning sensation in the throat and it helped alot. She was also told us to put a little rice in with her formula to help keep it heavier in her stomach to keep it down. It worked great-I think she was off of it by 8 months or so. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Hope this helped

Hello J.,

I recommend Zantac for reflux and spitting up because it really did seem to help my son. He was throwing up a lot, and it smelled very acidic. It seemed to help stop the throwing up & lessen it if he did. He didn't cry as much when he did throw up because I think it previously burned his throat because of the acid, but the zantac took the burning away.

Hi J., my son had a horrible case of acid reflux disease that began at 7 days old. He was hospitalized for 9 days and was suffering from apnea as a result. (He would stop breathing for a short period of time) One of the medicines that he was put on as a result was Omeprazole. I believe that it is a generic form of Zantac, or is similar to it. It made a huge difference in him. He was also given a medication that quickened his digestive system so that reflux occurred more infrequently. I hope that this info helps!
Sincerely,
C. W

Hello, I work in a NICU and we use zantac frequently for our babies w/ reflux. You can also try frequent burping during feeds. Also, avoid putting the baby down immed. after a feed. Try sitting her up in a bouncie seat or something where she'll be on an incline for at leat 1/2 hr after feeds. Sometimes giving smaller volumes more frequently works better too. Hope this helps!

My 4th and 6th children were on Zantac until about 6 months. I think it helped a little, but not too much. I also introduced baby food later ... around 6 or 7 mo old.

Honestly, the only thing I can really say about zantac is that drs prescribe it A LOT. I know in my case, my son started getting very fussy shortly after he turned 1 month old. He would go through times where he did spit up pretty frequently, and he hardly ever slept. My ped put him on a trial run of zantac. She explained that it might be a mild reflux issue causing it, or it could be colick. If reflux, the zantac would help. If colick, then it wouldn't. I researched it, put my son on it for a week, when I saw no improvement I stopped. I know 2 other women with babies who were also prescribed zantac at a very young age for some length of time. My son didn't have any bad reaction to it and neither did their children. One of them kept her daughter on it for almost a year and said it did help. I would definitely try to switch to a different formula or change your diet if breastfeeding first and see how that goes. From what I can tell, zantac is very safe for babies, but maybe because of this docs seem to write you a prescription for it as soon as you mention spitting up or fussiness in an otherwise healthy baby. It shouldn't hurt to try using it, just watch your baby to see if its actually making a difference. Its a quick fix if your baby has a reflux issue, but alot of times its not necessary. And as I said, some docs prescribe it so they can rule out reflux if it doesn't work. Hope this helped!