Acid reflux symptoms in kids are commonly disregarded as simple health problems that most children go through. However, it is only fair to warn parents that these symptoms might be something much worse that require immediate treatment.
Also, it is never a good idea to ignore your child when they show acid reflux symptoms. Even it is just an uncomfortable feeling since most adults experienced it during their lifetime, this might cause serious problem in kids since their bodies aren't fully developed yet.
Protect your child by familiarizing yourself with acid reflux symptoms in kids so you would know when it is time to take them to the doctor and have them checked out.
Change in Eating Habits
Heartburn or the burning sensation in their chest is already a symptom you need to watch out for. It might be serious when your child suddenly shows a in their eating habits that might eventually make the problem worst or even result to more serious complications.
In most cases, children who suffer from acid reflux tend to have a change in their eating habits. They would start to pick their food, favorites meals left uneaten, or a simple loss of appetite. This sudden change in their eating habits will eventually lead to weight loss.
There are also some children who would start developing trigger foods that will cause them a lot of heartburn every after each meal. Aside from heartburn, trigger foods might also cause them to suffer from abdominal pains, choking, vomiting, or even nausea.
Breathing Problems
Another acid reflux symptoms in kids you need to watch out for is the developing problems in their respiratory system. They might suddenly have an asthma attack without any probable cause, choking, wheezing, or even a lot of coughing. Backflow of acid from the stomach to the esophagus will eventually cause inflammation or infection in the throat or along the airway causing these symptoms to appear.
Other symptoms you might notice are shortness of breath during physical activities or nighttime coughing causing a change in sleeping patterns.
Taking them to the Doctor
If the above symptoms appear on your child then it would be safe to say that they are suffering from acid reflux or something much worst. It is advisable to spirit them away to your doctor to have them checked out to discover the extent of the problem.
There are two ways to find out if these are really symptoms of reflux. A simple laboratory test will allow the doctor to find out if it is really acid reflux or other health problems that needs to be addressed.
If the above test yields negative then the doctor would go for upper endoscopy to check out the extent of the damage on your child's esophagus, as well as making a probe on their stomach.
Treating GERD in Kids
Once it is determined that your child is suffering from GERD, the initial recommendation from your doctor would be to let your child take medications to combat the problem. These medications would come in the form of acid blockers to stop acid production, acid suppressors or antacids to counter excess acids from overflowing.
However, using medications will only temporarily solve the problem since the effects of the drugs usually wear off after a few hours.
It is more advisable to utilize prevention methods to ensure that reflux symptoms in kids will never happen again. It might be necessary to control your child's food intake by making sure that they eat the right food, like foods that are rich in alkaline to counteract the excess acid in their stomach.
Tom is experienced in indigestion and operates the extremely useful and well-liked web site about symptoms of acid reflux. He helps thousands of people beat their GERD problems. Visit his web-site right now to find out more on acid reflux symptoms as well as help on alkaline foods for acid reflux.
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