Treatments for Baby Acid Reflux

Desperation is a feeling that is often experienced by parents of babies with acid reflux. Often a parent feels conflicted about treatment of the child with medication because newborns are so little. However if a child is full of acid and gas there may be no other way to treat it but with chemicals that are known to work when it comes to dissolving gas breaking up gas.

If the colic is due to acid reflux then there are medications that can help your child recover.

The goals of treatment of acid reflux are to

· Relieve symptoms
· Promote normal weight gain
· Heal inflammation
· Prevent complications

The medical approach is very straightforward. It involves addressing the issue of stomach acid, which creates the pain of the reflux and stomach emptying which are the key initiators of reflux. If you can get these two problems in line you will have a happier baby.

Gas Drops are the first line of over the counter treatment for gas. Before prescribing you any medicine your doctor may suggest that you try gas drops. Gas drops are over the counter preparations that help break up gas. Most formulations contain simethicone.

Simethicone is a compound that does a great job of breaking up big gas bubbles in the intestine and breaking them down into smaller ones.

However if the baby is taking in a lot of air due to constantly screaming then these gas drops may simply not be enough to handle the problem. Unfortunately the baby's natural inclination is to gulp more air.

If stomach acid is the trigger that is making your baby scream then your doctor will prescribe an acid suppressant.

There are two classes of mediation that are used to suppress acid in babies. These include histamine receptor antagonists and proton pump inhibiters.

The histamine receptor antagonists are known to most of us as Zantac, Axid and Pepcid. They have been in use since 1981. For the baby with mild symptoms of reflux esopoghagitis these medications are a reasonable treatment option. However the drawback of using them is that they are a symptomatic treatment that loses its effectiveness with time.

Proton pump inhibiters actually stop the stomach from producing acid. This can help give the esophagus time to heal. The drug that is mainly used to treat children with reflux is called Prilosec. Children over the age of 11 can also take a similar drug called Nexium.

Prokinetic mediations are designed to improve your child's intestinal motility. They do this by —

· Helping the esophagus squeeze close and stay closed
· Increase the LES pressure so the child does not regurgitate as often
· Accelerate the emptying of the stomach contents

The two most popular of the prokinetic medications that are prescribed are called Reglan and Bethanechol. Both medications are given to a child four times a day.

Reglan has quite a few side effects including sleeplessness, jittery behavior, tongue thrusting, arching and head turning. This means the side effects of giving your kid this drug is just as bad as the colic itself.

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How To Make Your Medicine Cabinet Safer

Your medicine chest looks like a place where candies are stored to most kids. The fact that most medicines for kids taste pretty good also doesn't help. This is why it is important to clean it out as often as possible and put harmful medications under lock and key if you can. 

You should get rid of left-over or half use prescriptions as well as over-the-counter or prescription medicines that are past their expiry date.  If your kid doesn't finish his or her medication you should probably be throwing it out anyway.  It is dangerous to have old prescriptions around unless your pediatrician specifically told you to keep them. 

To make it a little safer you should also get rid of all the medications that do not have child resistant caps or packaging.  Even better yet don't keep any kind of medicine chest or medicine storage in your child's room at all! 

There are also some medications that you may have on hand that are not recommended for use by doctors or the American Pediatric association.  A good example is syrup of ipecac as the Academy of Pediatrics no longer says this is a good item to keep in the home. It used to be used to induce vomiting in kids that were accidentally poisoned. 

You should also get rid of any old mercury thermometers and trade them in for the newest sensor digital thermometers. The old fashioned ones can break and expose your kid to mercury and mercury vapors.  S

urprisingly the Academy of Pediatrics also recommends getting rid of hydrogen peroxide. We typically use it to disinfect cuts or wounds but apparently instead of helping to heal hydrogen peroxide may actual damage healthy skin cells. Try not to keep any aspirin in your medicine cabinet. Both very young children and adults are at risk of developing Reye's syndrome if they even take just one pill.  This is not a matter of overdose!   It is also common knowledge that you shouldn’t give your child, or even your teenager, aspirin unless there is no other option and you are stranded at a cottage. Start with half a pill if you have to and watch for any reactions (such as a rash.) 

When you are done cleaning out your medicine cabinet you should not just throw everything in the trash.  Don't flush them into the toilet either. These medicines are getting into our groundwater (especially the antibiotics.) As we are consuming antibiotics unnecessarily through water sources we are becoming more and more resistant to them. This can result in flesh eating diseases such as MRSA and illness from ordinary bacteria like staph. 

One way to keep your kid out of the medicine chest is to never give him or her the idea that is okay to go in there in the first place. Never say to your teen 'go get it yourself.' You don't want to end up with a Little Lindsay Lohan on your hands who has no idea about how to handle drugs.

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