After weeks and weeks of crying after eating and spitting up constantly, my first child was diagnosed with acid reflux. The initial news was disconcerting. It was my first baby, and of course I did not want him to be in any pain or diagnosed with any sort of medical complication.
Our pediatrician reassured us that acid reflux is quite a common condition among babies and with some treatment; he wouldn’t even feel any of the side effects.
Acid reflux is when the contents of the stomach, including both acid and food, work back up into the esophagus sometimes causing pain and discomfort. Sometimes this causes vomiting or a burp that contains some of the acid and/or food. In babies, it is difficult to tell this is happening, as it is quite common for babies to spit up.
If a child spits up or vomits often, and it is accompanied by crying, arching of the back or poor sleeping habits then the child most often is diagnosed with acid reflux. It is true that acid reflux is common in babies, as their muscle closing off the stomach from the esophagus is often not completely formed yet.
Acid Reflux is felt as a burning sensation plus pain in the stomach and chest behind the breastbone.
The symptoms of Acid Reflux include bloating, gas, and nausea, often accompanied by shortness of breath and an acidic or sour taste in the throat and mouth.
Acid Reflux is caused when hydrochloric acid, which is use to digest food, is released up the esophagus.
On its way up the acid can irritate the sensitive tissues in the esophagus and throat.
In normal stomach function, the esophageal sphincter muscle contracts and prevents the stomach acid from passing up into the esophagus.
Acid Reflux occurs if this muscle is not functioning properly and allows the acid to slip past it resulting in when Acid Reflux symptoms.
Other names used include Gastroesophageal reflux disease ,dyspepsia, chronic Acid Reflux or acid indigestion.
If left un treated, repeated flow of acid through the esophagus can scar and produce changes in the cells lining, sometimes causing cancer.
A hiatus hernia develops when the stomach bulges up into the diaphragm, this condition can also cause Acid Reflux.
Other triggers for Acid Reflux are alcohol, smoking and eating acidic foods
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