“What can I give my child for acid reflux?”
Can you suggest some safe medication to treat my child's issues with acid reflux?
8 Answers
Gastroenterologist(Pediatric)Acidreflux
Management for reflux depends on many other factors. How old is your child? If it is a newborn and is feeding well and gaining weight, no medications at all, as reflux is a physiological event at this age. If older, then also management depends on many other factors.
Acid in stomach is important for digestion. Based on symptoms, let your provider decide what is safe for your child and if symptoms are truly due to reflux or not. Feeling of heartburn can often be soothed by having TUMS, Milk. Any other medication needs a dose adjustment decided by the weight of your child
The answer to this questions depends on your child's age. If they are a teenager any over counter medication that is labelled as an antacid or acid reducer would be fine for a short period of time - foe example for 1-2 weeks. For younger children it is best to see your child's doctor before starting medication. There are many non-medication ways to treat reflux including no eating 2 hours before bed, limiting acidic and greasy foods, carbonation, caffeine and over eating.
There are certainly many different options for treatment of acid reflux in a child. This depends mostly on the age of the child. For infants and very young toddlers who cannot swallow pills, there are liquid acid reflux medication such as omeprazole and lansoprazole as well as powdered medications such as esomeprazole that can be mixed with formula or milk. For older children, it is safe to give over-the-counter Tums or Pepto-Bismol but they can also take the pill formulation of the medicines listed above.
You have to consult with your Pediatric gastroenterologist to proper diagnose the acid reflux and institute appropriate treatment. There are other diseases that can masquerade as acid reflux such as eosinophilic esophagitis and needs to be evaluated and excluded.
All things adults take for it kids can have, it just needs to be dosed correctly.
Medications for children are dosed by weight. There are plenty of safe medications including ranitidine and omeprazole which are available over the counter. However, for a child the dose depends on how big they are. If a child has reflux symptoms they probably should be assessed by someone to ensure the problem is truly reflux. Then if does appear to be reflux be able to select the correct dose of the best medication depending on the situation.
Mark R. Corkins, M.D.
Mark R. Corkins, M.D.
There are many treatment options for acid reflux. All drugs have side effects but the benefits, sometimes outweigh the risks. Before suggesting a treatment, we have to know your child’s age and history. We have to make sure that your child has reflux. Although GERD is common, many parents assume their children have reflux based on certain symptoms (e.g. heartburn, spitting up, difficulty swallowing, decreaed oral intake, vomiting, and abdominal pain) which could be related to other GI disorders. I suggest you counsel with a Pediatric Gastroenterology. Hope this helps!
