Protecting Against Acid Reflux Disease In Your Newborn Or Young Child

Acid reflux disease in newborns is one of the  most frequent ailments among infants and young children.  It is something that is extremely difficult for parents to accept, that their newborn has medical problems at such a young age .  You immediately speculate what you have done incorrectly and what you can do to stop the pain your child is getting . Based on input from pediatricians, acid reflux in youngsters and babies can easily be treated, and is a condition which ought to improve with time and eventually it could diminish altogether .

For babies and newborns, heartburn or acid reflux illness has the samesigns as for grown ups, except that adults do not typically throw up! The same problems happen, with meals and acid backing up through the abdomen in to the esophagus causing a great deal of discomfort and distress. Nonetheless, the problem appears much even worse in infants due to the fact the discomfort and distress forces them to cry, and stops them from attempting to sleep or getting a great high quality sleep.

Adults who have acid reflux are treated with acid reducing drug treatments such as Prevacidor Zantac, and the same is quite possibly true , for infants. In this case the drugs are made soluble and can be combined with baby formula or breast milk to make it easier to treatthe infant.

Numerous doctors as well as pediatricians prescribe Mylanta which works by covering the lining of the stomach and the esophagus which means that the acid is not able to cause as much harm. With the burning sensation lowered or gone, your baby will then be able to settle down, and hopefully get some much needed rest.

Now if you are like most parents, you do not like the idea of your baby being on prescription drugs, but there are a few things that you can do to naturally help your infant. Lying a baby down to sleep as soon as they have eaten is not a good idea. It makes it too easy for the stomach acid and food to travel the wrong way up the esophagus from the stomach, and this acid causes the burning sensation and discomfort we are trying to avoid. Keep them upright for at least 30 minutes so that the stomach has time to digest the food properly. Give your baby smaller feeds more often, so that the stomach is never over full. It will cope with smaller amounts of food more efficiently. Consider buying an infant acid reflux pillow to help your baby sleep on an angle, so that the stomach is never higher than the mouth. Now do not try building an incline yourself. There is an art and science to these special pillows, and there are some acid reflux pillows designed especially for infants, to support them in a more upright posture. The good news is that as your baby ages, the weak muscle at the join of the stomach and the esophagus will grow and become stronger, and then acid reflux should be less of a problem.