Learning About Acid Reflux in Babies
Acid reflux in babies is actually quite more common than you may think, and the reason is because most of the time we are not even able to tell that our little ones are suffering from such a problem. The most common symptom of acid reflux in babies, after all, is spit up, and they do this often any way and so thus it can be hard to tell the difference between regular spit up and spit up which is caused by acid reflux
About Acid Reflux in Babies
Acid reflux is a term that doctors use to describe a condition where food and stomach acid flow back up into the esophagus. How it works is that a ring of muscles which is located at the bottom of the esophagus and which is called the lower esophageal sphincter, opens and closes in order to allow food to enter the stomach, but with acid reflux this ring of muscles is loose and thus allows the food to enter too quickly, causing an overflow of acid.
Acid reflux in babies, if present, will usually subside by the time they are around a year old, and so if you are worried about it if they suffer from it when they are young, at least you can rest assured knowing that the problem will be gone soon.
Treatment
When it comes to the treatment for acid reflux in babies, for the most part there is actually no requirement for any type of treatment at all. Therefore the treatment for your infant will basically depend on just how severe the problem is. If it is normal there will be no treatment needed, and if the reflux is more serious, or if your baby has been diagnosed with GERD, then your doctor may end up prescribing some type of medication to help them.
Just make sure that you keep an eye on your baby’s health and if at any time there acid reflux seems to be particularly troublesome, then you need to get them in to see a medical professional as soon as possible, so that they can be taken care of promptly before the ailment gets even more serious.
Just as acid reflux can be incredibly painful and discomforting in adults, it can be so in infants as well, and so just because they can’t actually complain about their pain in words, this certainly does not mean that they are not feeling it.