Symptoms of Acid Reflux in Infants

Does your baby spit up often? If he (or she) does, then he might be one of 40% to 65% of babies suffering from symptoms of acid reflux during their early months. Normally, babies can do away with treatment since the condition usually resolves itself within 12 to 18 months. However, in some cases, symptoms of acid reflux can develop into a severe chronic disease that interferes with a baby’s normal development. Since it’s possible for your child to be suffering from severe symptoms of acid reflux without your knowledge, educating yourself with the symptoms of acid reflux among infants is therefore critical information. So how can you tell if your baby is suffering from acid reflux symptoms? 

The Common Symptoms of Acid Reflux

Since babies have no way to complain when they experience symptoms of acid reflux, proper diagnosis is much harder to come by, especially since their most common manifestation – spitting up – is a normal occurrence at their age. The problem, however, is when spitting-up is coupled with other symptoms of acid reflux that inhibits their normal development.

These symptoms include: poor weight gain, forceful vomiting of large amounts of food usually out of their nose, frequent spitting accompanied by a painful look on the face similar to heartburn, persistent coughing and hiccups, excessive bursts of painful crying especially during feeding, frequent irritability and fussiness, sour breath, difficulty swallowing food, and frequent sore throat. Some babies also manifest less common symptoms of acid reflux such as recurrent ear and sinus infections, excessive drooling, and persistent hoarseness.

Because these symptoms of acid reflux can cause great discomfort for babies, they tend to associate feeding with negative experiences and consequently they develop poor eating habits that can worsen their situation. Thus, they often refuse to eat, stiffening their body and arching their back while screaming during feeding time, even if they are still hungry.

Coping with Symptoms of Acid Reflux

Although most babies are likely to outgrow symptoms of acid reflux as their bodies develop and their digestive systems function better, it is still necessary for parents to keep them as comfortable as possible to better manage the condition and prevent it from escalating into a chronic disease.

Some steps parents can do to help their infants (and also themselves) begin with implementing very simple changes in their feeding techniques. This includes changing formulas, trying smaller and more frequent feedings to make digestion easier, burping your baby more frequently, and avoiding burping your baby over your shoulders to ease the pressure on their abdomen.

However, in cases where your baby’s symptoms of acid reflux are worse, an aggressive course of treatment may be needed. Oftentimes this involves medication therapy similar to those given to adults. But since babies are more likely to develop adverse side-effects from prescription medication, be sure to always consult a pediatrician to ensure your baby’s safety. Surgery is also an option for babies exhibiting very severe symptoms of acid reflux. Nonetheless, given the complications associated with surgery, this should only be an option of last resort.

© 2007 www.acidcurereflux.com: symptoms of acid reflux in infants