One of the routine maladies an infant could experience is called reflux. Reflux baby symptoms are generally vomiting or spitting up milk. Other symptoms could include a constant cough or wheezing and colic like symptoms - crying, cramping, moaning and groaning. Like adults, reflux in infants can elicit discomfort in the abdominal area as a result of of digestive acids that cause indigestion. In fact, a reflux baby is often diagnosed as a colicky baby and vice versa. As you will see, reflux and colic are often two sides of the same coin!
So what are the primary causes of reflux in infants? Well the number one and by far the most prevalent is simply gas that is trapped and is taking up space in either the stomach or intestinal region. This is frequently described as an immature digestive tract but in reality, if baby burps well, then reflux is infrequent.
Think of the stomach as a water balloon. As you fill it from the top (with milk) wind can get stuck in little pockets which usually 'burp' up quite easily. But in some cases, the burps get stuck and now the milk is sitting on top of a gas bubble and can readily rise up the throat again. If it comes out the mouth, it is usually still very liquid and runny.
It can come up and down the throat without truly being vomited or spat out, in which case we call it silent reflux. It usually appears as the baby regurgitating. With this routine group of reflux in babies, they don't generally cry or show much distress. It can simply be an irritating chore to keep changing their clothes! The key is almost always to learn new burping methods that will get the deepest burps up so that the milk can settle into the stomach.
But what if your baby burps well but they still have reflux? In these situations, the most general cause is a distended abdominal area (generally called colic). Imagine if you had a lot of gas trapped in your intestines - it would take up space and exert upward strain on your diaphragm and stomach. Naturally, milk wouldn't flow as well although it would at least start the digestive process. But because this was sluggish, acid might start to burn or hurt the intestinal lining and the body would react by throwing it up! It might look curdled and chunky like cottage cheese.
With this kind of reflux baby, symptomatic reprieve can be achieved with medication (Losec, Nexium and various others) but this doesn't really alter the intrinsic condition - too much gas in the lower digestive tract. Fortunately, it fixes itself within a few months. And even more fortunately, you can learn how to help get this gas moving through specific techniques that mobilize and un-trap this gas. Get the wind moving, then milk can flow through as it should and problem solved!
There is also another type of reflux which is less common but gets a lot of exposure. It has to do with the valves in the digestive tract themselves being either too restricted or too flaccid. Milk bubbles up too easily and is disgorged via the mouth. This is called Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) and is also a problem for many adults.
Most reflux cases materialize around 1-4 months (like colic) and will clear without intervention at about 6-9 months. But with some action - learning good burping and gas mobilisation techniques - most common cases of reflux in babies will disappear in a matter of days.
But if the situation seems more severe, with long crying spells and high pitched painful screaming, see your pediatrician and ask if you have a reflux baby. In most of these situations, medication to relieve the acid burn will ease symptoms. In a few extreme cases, surgical intervention may be required.
Author Resource:
This information about reflux in babies has been written based on personal experience of some 20 years as a doctor treating babies with this syndrome. The syndrome is so prevalent as to warrent a consideration of more than merely symptomatic treatment and medication.
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