subject: Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) - Triggers and Infant [print this page] Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) - Triggers and Infant
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (also known as GERD or Acid Reflux Disease) occurs during or after a meal when the contents of the stomach backflow into the tube that connects the mouth to the stomach (called the esophagus). It can occur at any time during your child's life. It is frequent in infancy and is usually tolerated well by babies. In older kids, the repeated backwashing of the acidic stomach contents can damage the lining of the esophagus. With severe damage, your child's esophagus may even start to bleed. He may also experience malnutrition or failure to thrive.
What triggers GERD?
There are many things that can trigger acid reflux, including eating right before going to bed or taking a nap, eating certain foods, being around secondhand smoke or being overweight.
Foods that can make GERD worse include orange or grapefruit juice, spicy foods (like Pizza), ketchup, tomato sauces (like spaghetti), chocolate, drinks containing caffeine (coffee, colas), carbonated beverages, onion, fried or fatty foods, pickles, peppermint or spearmint.
Exposure to secondhand smoke makes acid reflux worse in two ways. First, tobacco smoke weakens the valve that separates the esophagus and the stomach. This valve is called the Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES). The LES opens to allow food to pass into the stomach and closes to prevent food and acidic stomach juices from flowing back into the esophagus. Secondly, smoke stimulates the stomach to produce more acid.
Being overweight can also cause GERD because extra abdominal fat puts pressure on the stomach.
Infants:
GERD is very common in normal, healthy infants. Most infants with GERD are happy and healthy even though they may spit up or vomit. The frequency of spitting usually peaks around the age of 4 months and most children outgrow GERD by the time they are 12 months old.
If your baby is spitting up without experiencing any discomfort and continues to gain weight appropriately, then he or she is probably a normal spitter (happy spitter). They will usually outgrow this without any treatment.
The symptoms of GERD can vary from child to child, but some of the common symptoms of GERD include frequent vomiting, loosing weight, irritability, crying, coughing, scratchy or hoarse voice, wheezing, slow rate of growth or refusing to eat. These symptoms may improve with treatment
