Acid Reflux Children- Can Young Children Suffer from Acid Reflux?

Acid Reflux Children- They Do Exist

Although it is well recorded that Adults suffer from acid reflux it is not so well know, but research has shown that we also have acid reflux children. Children can be born with it and diagnosed to have it within a few weeks. When babies spit up sometimes it is because of excess acid which could be diagnosed as acid reflux if it occurs on a frequent basis.

Is It Acid Reflux or just Colic?

Acid reflux children can become out of sorts when dealing with this problem.Comforting them at this time may be very hard to do. Although they can fall asleep easily if you rock them when upright, they can soon suffer if you try to lay them down. Of course it is hard to distinguish between acid reflux and Colic in most cases. We generally would not think of a small child as having acid reflux and would immediately think it was Colic as the symptoms are similar.

The good news is that Acid reflux children will probably resolve the problem as they grow older. As there body’s change they are able to digest foods they could not before. However some will still have it and need a doctor’s diagnosis to test why will have to be made. There are many tests and checking the amount of acid entering the esophagus is one of them. Knowing what levels of acid a child is dealing with is a good starting point. Prescription medication may be necessary if there are signs of inflammation in the esophagus.

Food habits tend to change when a child is growing up. Certain food have a tendency to produce acid may not be ideal for children who may be developing acid reflux. Quite a few foods will not digest well within a young person’s stomach. Foods that may cause a problem include certain fruits that are acidic and Spicy foods which can set off bouts of heartburn. One problem is drinking to many fizzy drinks with high sugar content and they should be encouraged to drink fresh water instead where possible.

Acid reflux children may carry it through into there teen years where lots of hormonal changes are taking place further provoking the situation. Hopefully by the time they reach puberty the situation will have become much less or disappear entirely but it is not always the case. We can encourage teenagers to eat properly but usually there diets contain a lot of junk food which further exasperates the heartburn problems. The problem can turn chronic if they also combine bad eating with a tendency to drink alcohol.

Having acid reflux children affects everyone around but fortunately doctors have become much more aware of the problem in recent years. There diagnoses have become more specific and this gives a chance of better treatment early on. Unfortunately some parents also have bad eating habits and need to be educated to there acid reflux children’s needs.

Acid Reflux symptoms in Children

Heartburn is the most common symptom and is caused by acid burning the lining of the esophagus causing severe pain in the chest area, made worse by lying down. Other symptoms can include a sore throat, a burning of the back of the throat, ear pain, all making it very hard to sleep well at night. Children with these problems may have acid reflux and particular attention should be paid to these problems. It will not be relieved unless treated so parents should try to offer some form of relief but a trip to the doctors could remedy the problem.

On the whole acid reflux children can have there problems relieved with medication that neutralize stomach acid like antacids. However this should not rule out a trip to the doctor for a proper diagnosis as they still may need prescription medication for proper relief. Although hard in very young children, when they are a bit older a change in diet can produce good results as can not eating just before bedtime.