Acid Reflux Children

Each year there are approximately four million babies born in the America and up to thirty five percent of them may have difficulties with acid reflux, heartburn and GERD during in the first few months of their life.

Many of these children will not continue to experience the symptoms of acid reflux by their first birthday. But a noteworthy number of them will simply not outgrow the condition and will have to deal with the pain and discomfort caused by this disease for the remainder of there lives if precautions are not taken at this early age to prevent this from becoming a life long medical problem.

Every time a child has a bout of acid reflux the acid generated by the stomach is refluxed back up to the esophagus weakening it. As this process is repeated over time the damage to the esophagus will become more acute and finally reach a point it where it is no longer closing properly and will become permanently impaired.

When the esophagus reaches this point lifestyle changes and medications are no longer an option and surgery is the only hope for relief.

Many other children and infants will suffer from Laryngopharyngeal Reflux (LPR) which will bring about breathing issues, like the following; sleep disordered breathing, turning blue (cyanosis), aspiration, pauses in breathing (apnea), croup, asthma, feeding difficulty (spitting up), cough, hoarseness, stridor (noisy breathing), apparent life threatening event (ALTE), and even a severe deficiency in growth. Immediate and appropriate treatment of LPR particularly in children is crucial.

Medical research has determined that children with family histories of acid reflux, heartburn and GERD are almost three times as likely to suffer from these diseases as children that did not relatives that experienced these same conditions. This makes sense since the primary cause of acid reflux is directly related to the foods one eats.

It is easy to conclude then that the same dietary pattern that is causing acid reflux with the adults in the household is being passed down to the children sharing this residence. A simple switch to an "Acid Reflux Diet" in most cases will not only solve the children's problems, but the adults also.