Heartburn and GERD Also Affects Children and Infants

A chronic heartburn is a strong indication of a more serious condition, and in most cases, doctors would pursue the idea of a Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease or GERD.
GERD is when there is a painful and burning feeling in your chest caused by acid from the stomach rising to the esophagus area.

With over 20% of the American populations suffering from GERD, a small number of are children and infants. The problem with infants is that they cannot communicate yet, so parents must be alert about unusual behavior.

In the case of GERD, infants and children tend to show the following symptoms: a persistent cough, vomiting, difficulty in swallowing or tendency to gag on food, excessive crying especially during and immediately after eating, and pain in the stomach area.

Other physical signs of a GERD condition are slow growth, a pneumonia problem that keeps coming back, breathing problems, and colic.

Sometime, a colic baby or child will be treated for his colic, and not given the treatment for GERD. This is why the monthly check ups for babies, as well as the parents’ observations are very important.

One reason for the urgency in being able to diagnose GERD in children and infants is because, unlike with adults, a child with GERD may have complications that could affect their brain, nerves, and muscles. This is because their digestive system is still developing, and might not be able to handle too much acid activity. The good news is that babies with GERD usually outgrow this by the time they get past their first year.

Some of the diagnostic tests used to determine GERD in children, especially babies are the upper GI series which is an x-ray done to check the esophagus, the endoscopy, the gastric emptying study and the pH probe. These tests are usually conclusive in their results, so treatment can start immediately.

The treatment for infants is similar to what older children and adults have to undergo such as elevating the head above the stomach area, adjusting the feeding schedule, and shifting to solids ahead of the normal timeframe.

As much as possible, medication is not given to infants, since they cannot digest antacids, and they could experience serious ill effects like diarrhea from the stronger drugs. Doctors will normally start with a change in the milk or food before trying any drugs on the infants.

Older children are more capable of digesting the medicines, but still since they are still growing, a change also in their eating and after-eating habits must be tried first.

If you have a child you suspect of having GERD, do not try to treat your baby or child on your own. You will need to consult your pediatrician first. There are precautions that have to be taken. The best you can do is to write down your observations as well as the frequency of the events so that the pediatrician can have a little historical data to help him diagnose the problem.