Acid Reflux Foods

Acid Reflux in Infants and What are the Symptoms

Many new parents think that acid reflux doesn’t occur with infants. However, when your infant starts showing signs of acid reflux you want to get as much information about it as possible. You will want to know everything there is to know about this disorder and how to treat this condition. There are several symptoms that will help you to identify and treat acid reflux in infants.

One of the most common symptoms of acid reflux in infants is frequent vomiting. This vomiting is not the same as the usual spitting up that is most common with infants after drinking or eating. The vomiting will reoccur often throughout the day and through the night. If the acid reflux in your infant becomes too excessive you should consult a physician immediately.

There are other symptoms of acid reflux in infants and they may be a little harder to recognize. One example is that the child may have a persistent cough and will have more difficulty breathing. Another example, however rare, is stomach pain and heartburn. These symptoms are hard to recognize because obviously infants can’t tell you where they are hurting.

Another symptom may be the discomfort of gas. This will cause the infant to be extremely fussy and irritable. This will also cause the infant to have difficulty eating and drinking from a bottle. These symptoms can often be mistaken for colic because these conditions are so similar. It has been said that acid reflux in infants and colic just go together but not always.

There are ways to treat acid reflux in infants. In most cases the infants will grow out of it. But you should always consult your baby’s doctor if you do believe your infant does have acid reflux. However, there are ways to relieve some of the symptoms while you are waiting to get to the doctor. You could first try to elevate the baby’s head. It seems to be worse if they are lying flat on the floor. It’s better to keep the infants head elevated so that the contents of the babies tummy doesn’t come up into his/her esophagus. You could also hold the infant upright. For example, sitting on your lap or laying his head on your shoulder. You should do this for at least a half hour each time your infant eats or drinks. This should allow enough time for baby’s stomach to settle down. You can also purchase a wedge pillow made for infants that can be easily used in the crib or the bassinet. These elevate the babies head just enough to help reduce the vomiting during nap time and bedtime.

Tags: acid reflux in infants

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 12:20 am and is filed under Acid Reflux. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.