Recent statistics show that one fifth or so of the eight million babies born each year in the US suffer from acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and babies that face developmental or neurological challenges are even more at risk from this complaint. Baby acid reflux is a condition that remains incompletely researched and that is often subject to misconceptions as well.
In simple terms, acid reflux, also called GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease) is a mechanical problem in the digestive system, which can be corrected. In a healthy person, there is a circular muscle acting as a valve at the junction of the stomach and the esophagus (called the lower esophageal sphincter) and stopping stomach acids from flowing back up the esophagus. Acid reflux happens when that sphincter cannot retain the acids in the stomach. These then move into the throat sometimes as far as the larynx. Numerous symptoms can result from acid reflux leading to complications like infections, pain, ulcers, difficulties in eating, vocal disorders and even cancer in the long run.
For the first 3 to 4 months of a baby’s life, frequent vomiting happens in 50% of all cases, peaking at 4 months. In addition, reflux condition is easy to confuse with usual vomiting in babies. Vomiting is both painful and distressing when caused by acid reflux. Baby acid reflux can be particularly challenging to diagnose and treat. Because Babies cannot speak about their feelings, it is difficult to determine if they are suffering from a medical problem.
To correctly diagnose infant acid reflux, it is necessary to identify several further symptoms of acid reflux. Besides sporadic vomiting, these infant acid reflux symptoms include: infections of the middle ear, enlargement of the adenoids, pains in the abdomen, anemia, asthma, crying non-stop, awakening at night without reason, vomiting of blood (hematemesis), continual coughing, a high-pitched sound when breathing, repeated croup, resistance to feeding and inflammation of the nose and the sinus. The best solution for correct diagnosis of infant acid reflux is to have a specialist diagnosis performed by an ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor or a gastroenterologist.
Possibilities for remedies to gastro esophageal reflux disease can be: medicaments, surgery and holistic programs. However, even for adult acid reflux patients, surgery is rarely an option in normal situations. For baby acid reflux, neither medicaments not surgery are optimal answers. Medicaments may be sub-optimal in particular for Babies for any of the three reasons below:
1. Medicaments for acid reflux target the acid reflux symptoms but neglect the deeper cause of the condition.
2. Medicaments for acid reflux can cause multiple secondary effects that are difficult to identify in infants.
3. Medicaments for acid reflux can interfere with an infant’s immune system, meaning a weakened and vulnerable immunity, possibly leading to different health complications other than acid reflux as well as the aggravation of acid reflux.
The optimal solution to baby acid reflux is a holistic one while taking into account an overall set of changes in diet and lifestyle. Strong support is lent to this concept by research done recently. Research demonstrated that a transition to soy-based formula from cow’s milk based formula gave infants a 40% recovery rate. Other research showed acid reflux symptoms juice products as an aggravating factor for infant gastroesophageal reflux disease. Altering feeding and sleeping position was also seen to be of benefit in treating baby GERD.
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