Treatment of acid reflux usually includes taking some medication. Often it is recommended to take some over the counter liquid medication, such as Mylanta.
Of course, it will be in a very small dose through a dropper because of the child’s size, but it generally is helpful in lessening the discomfort. If this does not seem to be enough to calm the acid reflux symptoms the doctor may recommend taking a prescription medication such a Prevacid or Zantac.
These medications help to stop the production of acid in the stomach, and therefore there is less acid to work back up into the esophagus.
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 remedies are nothing new, and it seems like there are more being released every day. Although there are plenty of prescription medicines to treat acid reflux, or heartburn as it is often called, more and more it seems that people are turning to acid reflux home remedies as an alternative to these kinds of treatments.
I am not really sure why this is so, but acid reflux remedies made of herbs, minerals, and the like are more and more popular as time passes. This seems strange to me, as many of the traditional over the counter acid reflux remedies are made of pretty natural stuff anyway.
I have heard that tums is basically chalk, and I have even heard of activated charcoal being used successfully as an acid reflux remedy. So why all of this searching for alternatives when many of the common choices seem to work so well?
A mainstream pharmaceutical company is blitzing the airwaves promoting yet another solution to one the side effects of their popularly prescribed pain medications. Targeting seniors (the biggest consumers of pain meds), the manufacturer of the acid-reducing drug promises their product will protect users from the most dangerous potential side effects of painkillers – stomach ulcers and bleeding.
Absent from their ads is any information about a serious risk associated with this secondary treatment.
In an apparent trend, pharmaceutical fortunes are now being enlarged by creating antidotes for the side effects of other popular medications they manufacture.
A built-in, self-perpetuating stream of sales seems guaranteed for the pharmaceutical industry while seniors scramble to pay and take ever greater risks with their health. The average senior uses six prescription medications a day and some take as many as 20, putting their complete faith in the latest (and costliest) drugs on the market.
Consumers should be aware, however, that there are potentially serious side effects from this seemingly benign class of acid-reducing medications. In addition, the prolonged use of acid-reducers will have a broader impact than pain killers, appealing as they do to all segments of the adult population. That danger is Vitamin B-12 Deficiency and it is very real.
Antacids enable people to eat foods they shouldn’t eat.
Perhaps you make it a point to avoid foods like fried chicken or cheeseburgers or french fries, because you get a stomachache afterward. This is your body communicating the message that these foods are not good choices.
Enter antacids, which mask the body’s normal reaction to greasy,
fried foods and allow you to eat them with abandon. Bad idea, says
Dr. Rubman.
By permitting you to consume foods that would otherwise “disagree” with you, these drugs are doing a tremendous disservice. Your stomach may feel better, but evidence of the body’s digestive discomfort is bound to emerge elsewhere for example, with intestinal gas, bad breath, a skin rash or worse.
