1. Make Sure It's GERD Before Starting Treatment
It's so difficult for new parents to comfort their baby that's suffering with GERD, pediatric acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux disease. Get a proper diagnosis before the proper treatment can be determined. The symptoms of true GERD causes a baby to cry and strain most all the time. They will arch their back to straighten the esophagus, easing their discomfort. When the acid has built up in their tummy, they spit up, throw up, can choke and gag. This can lead to esophagus damage if the baby isn't relieved of the acid reflux.
2. Elevated Positions Help Comfort an Acid Reflux Baby
Dress the baby in comfortable, loose clothing, like infant gowns, without elastic waistbands that cause pressure on their tummy. Elevate a baby with GERD to nurse or take a bottle without scrunching the tummy to give comforting relief. Be sure to burp often and lay the baby against your chest almost straight up. Stay still in this position to help the baby relax and digest their food easier. This position helps parents to monitor their baby closely and know immediately if they start spitting up or choking. Use an infant car seat in your home to keep the baby upright providing relief to their tummy. In their crib, most doctors recommend laying the GERD baby on their back with the mattress elevated.
3. Treat Pediatric GERD With Changes in Feeding or Formula
Babies with GERD find relief by nursing more often for a shorter time. This eases strain on the esophagus, as there is less in the stomach after each feeding. Nursing mothers should watch their own diet to avoid caffeine, spicy or hard to digest foods. Doctors might recommend special formulas for pediatric GERD, adding small amounts of rice cereal to the baby's milk to thicken it, making it harder to spit back up, or a combination of those.
4. Medications Can Help Ease Pediatric GERD
When you have exhausted all the changes to feeding and positioning, your doctor may recommend medications to help ease your baby's discomfort. The medications will lower the amount of problem causing acid and relax the muscles of the lower portion of the esophagus. Antacids and histamine blockers like Pepcid AC, Tagament HB, Axid AR or Zantac 75 are the most common ones recommended in pediatric dosages.
5. If All Else Has Failed, Surgery Is an Option
Some parents may consider surgery as an option for pediatric GERD. Surgery should be an option only in severe situations if the infant is not receiving enough nourishment. Fundoplication is the surgery procedure, by either open surgery or in a laparoscopic procedure. In both, the lower esophagus is wrapped by the upper section of the stomach making it harder for the acid to flow back up into the esophagus.
