Acid Reflux Treatment

Q: My 5 month old has ACID REFLUX...?!? I just got back from the hospital b/c I son's peditrician order a test and it confurmed he does has acid reflux. WHat kind of complications, risks, treatment does this involved? How serious can it be? For a little background--- he has had a chronic chough b/c of this (not sure how it can cause a cough) and he has stayed at 14lbs since he was 2-3 months old Can anyone help me please?.

A:My daughter was diagnosed with acid reflux at 3 weeks of age. We had to give her Zantac 2 or 3 times a day for a long time, but now she is a year and half old and is okay, she no longer needs the zantac and is doing fine. With any luck your little one will grow out of it also, just hang in there and keep giving him his medicine and he'll be okay. the cough is from the acid going up the esophagus. this is fairly common now a days...don't ask me why...but I have yet to know a baby that doesn't have this...hmmm it makes me wonder, none of my kids had this , we called it spit up and they got over it !! all should be fine though My friend's child also has this..Its not a big deal. They will give you meds to give to you child like a Prevacid or something that treats GERD. But I really wouldn't worry about it. More importantly whatever you feed him try and keep the acidity levels low. So attempt to feed very

bland foods. Look up what the suggested foods for adults with GERD are given to help with their symptoms. Also home cooked food would be better than processed baby food. Another thing is keep the baby's upper body and head elevated when sleeping or lying on his back to make the baby a little more comfortable. What acid reflux is really that the acidity levels in the stomach's digestive juices are high and at time the sphincter located right below the breast plate can get damaged or weaken therefore allowing some of the acidity to aggitate the esophagus and therefore cause a burn/discomfort. By elevating the child's upper body while sleeping it can help in keeping the acidic juices down.