Helpful Information And Tips To Help With Infant Acid Reflux
Did you know that more than half of the babies born in the United States experience infant acid reflux? It is not uncommon for babies to spit up a lot in the first few months of life and usually this condition remedies itself by the time the baby is 12 to 18 months of age. In the meantime, unless the condition is more serious, there are ways you can alleviate the symptoms of infant acid reflux disease with or without medication depending on the severity of the acid reflux.
The top three symptoms of infant acid reflux are frequent spitting up, becoming irritable during or after feedings and poor feeding habits. If your baby is not gaining weight, spit up literally shoots out of the baby's mouth, spits up more than a tablespoon at a time, has difficulty breathing, has a fever, gets frequent diarrhea, infrequent wet diapers, spits up green or brown fluid, becomes very cranky after feedings that is made better by sitting up and/or is unusually lethargic it is time to see a doctor as some of these symptoms could indicate a more serious problem like GERD. GERD is also known as pyloric stenosis which is a condition where the valve between the stomach and small intestine is too narrow and does not allow stomach contents to empty into the small intestine properly.
When diagnosing infant acid reflux disease it is up to the doctor to determine whether the baby is growing properly or if the baby needs lab tests to find the problem. Lab tests can include an upper GI, blood and urine tests, ph monitoring of the esophagus and/or upper endoscopy. These tests may sound a little scary but they are pretty routine tests. In the long run it can help to eliminate a serious condition and provide enough information for the doctor to offer a treatment option or medication. Most of the time this condition can be remedied by simple techniques you can do at home to aid in alleviating baby's acid reflux.
Some things you can do to help your baby's infant acid reflux include such things as feeding your baby in a sitting up position, make the feedings calm and peaceful, more frequent burping, make sure the nipple for bottle fed babies has the right sized hole, make the breast milk or formula thicker by adding a little rice cereal and enlarge the hole on the nipple when you do and elevate the crib so that your baby is more upright when sleeping to avoid the reflux from feedings. This should help to remedy some of the acid reflux and discomfort for your baby.
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