How to PREVENT Baby Acid Reflux

A free article on Health and Fitness

By: Jeff Martin

Recent statistics show that one fifth or so of the eight million babies born each year in the US suffer from acid reflux, also known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), and babies that face developmental or neurological challenges are even more at risk from this complaint. Baby acid reflux is a condition that remains incompletely researched and that is often subject to misconceptions as well.

In simple terms, acid reflux, also called GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease) is a mechanical problem in the digestive system, which can be corrected. In a healthy person, there is a circular muscle acting as a valve at the junction of the stomach and the esophagus (called the lower esophageal sphincter) and stopping stomach acids from flowing back up the esophagus. Acid reflux happens when that sphincter cannot retain the acids in the stomach. These then move into the throat sometimes as far as the larynx. Numerous symptoms can result from acid reflux leading to complications like infections, pain, ulcers, difficulties in eating, vocal disorders and even cancer in the long run.

Baby acid reflux can be particularly difficult to diagnose and treat. Because an infant cannot give verbal expression to his or her feelings, it is difficult to determine if he or she is suffering from a medical problem. In addition, reflux condition is easy to confuse with usual vomiting in babies. For the first 3 to 4 months of an infant's life, frequent vomiting happens in half of all cases, with a peak at 4 months. Vomiting is both painful and distressing when caused by acid reflux.

The best solution for the right diagnosis of baby acid reflux is to have a specialist diagnosis performed by an ENT (ear, nose, throat) doctor or a gastroenterologist. To correctly diagnose Baby acid reflux, several further symptoms of acid reflux need to be seen. Besides sporadic vomiting, these Baby acid reflux symptoms include: infections of the middle ear, waking in the night without reason, enlargement of the adenoids, abdominal pains, asthma, crying non-stop, anemia, vomiting of blood (hematemesis), continual coughing, a high-pitched sound when breathing, repeated croup, reluctance to feeding and inflammation of the nose and the sinus.

Possibilities for remedies to gastro esophageal reflux disease can be: medicaments, surgery and holistic programs. However, even for adult acid reflux patients, surgery is rarely an option in normal situations. For baby acid reflux, neither medicaments not surgery are optimal answers. Medicaments may be sub-optimal in particular for Babies for any of the three reasons below:

1. Medicaments for acid reflux target the acid reflux symptoms but neglect the deeper cause of the condition.

2. Medicaments for acid reflux can cause multiple secondary effects that are difficult to identify in infants.

3. Medicaments for GERD can cause multiple secondary effects that are present but hidden in infants.

The optimal solution to baby acid reflux is a holistic one while taking into account an overall set of changes in diet and lifestyle. Strong support is lent to this concept by research done recently. Research demonstrated that a transition to soy-based formula from cow's milk based formula gave infants a 40% recovery rate. Other research showed acid reflux symptoms juice products as an aggravating factor for infant gastroesophageal reflux disease. Altering feeding and sleeping position was also seen to be of benefit in treating baby GERD.

Information about the Author:

Jeff Martin is a certified nutritionist and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, Heartburn No More . To Learn More About Jeff Martins Unique Holistic Acid Reflux Cure System Visit: Baby Acid Reflux

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