Symptoms, Causes and Treatment for Infant Reflux

While more than half of all babies experience infant reflux in their first few months of life, the condition usually resolves itself within 12 to 18 months. Often times reflux symptoms are similar to colic or the average infant fussiness. Here are some basic guidelines to answer the questions, as to how to tell if reflux is the culprit and what you can do.

Symptoms of infant reflux
Constant crying, vomiting, arching the body and throwing the neck backward during eating or after eating, frequent hiccups, irritation, poor sleep and frequent sinus or ear infections are common symptoms of infant reflux. However, the exact symptoms of infant reflux vary from infant to infant. The symptoms of infant reflux, especially silent reflux are often mistaken for colic. Infants suffering from silent reflux do not vomit. But they cry and scream inconsolably after every feed.

What causes infant reflux?
Reflux develops when the valve that controls the movement of contents between the esophagus and the stomach could not work properly. This is a common condition in infants born with underdeveloped lower esophageal sphincter. The underdeveloped esophageal sphincter fails to close after liquid or food enters the infant's stomach.

During the digestion process when the stomach contracts to push the contents in the stomach into the intestines, a portion of the stomach content blended with stomach acid moves upward into the esophagus through the relaxed lower esophageal sphincter.

The acid irritates the lining of the esophagus, causing intense pain. A part or the entire stomach content might move upwards into the esophagus and the child would vomit after each feed.

Treatment for Infant Reflux:

Baby acid reflux is present in appropriately 20% of babies before the age of nine months. Acid reflux is due to an underdeveloped digestive tract and almost all babies will outgrow the condition before their first birthday.

For bottle fed babies, infant reflux may be controlled by thickening the formula or breast milk with a small amount of rice cereal. Add 1 tbsp. per four ounces of formula or breast milk and mix thoroughly. If this mixture is too thick to flow through the nipple, the infant may fuss and parents can confuse this with food refusal. However, if this happens while trying this infant reflex treatment, you should try switching to a different size nipple or enlarge the opening on the nipple slightly by cutting a small X on the tip. Alternatively you may spoon feed the baby.

Another infant reflux treatment some parents have had success with involves slight changes to the feeding routine. Though some infants like to drift off to sleep after a feeding, keeping the baby in an upright position for 30 minutes after a feeding may reduce infant reflux.

The general advice is to keep the baby's head a minimum of 30% higher than their stomach. Also, babies with reflux should be burped more frequently during feedings. Stop to burp the baby after 2 oz. if bottle fed or if breastfeeding burp before switching breasts. This should also help keep the infant awake for the feeding and make it easier to keep the infant upright after feeding. Lastly, when your baby does nap after feeding, make sure he sleeps on his back.

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In the majority of cases acid reflux can be successfully treated and managed with simple changes to the baby's diet. More serious cases of infant reflux may require immediate medical attention. Signs that your baby's reflux is severe include: projectile vomiting or regular vomiting; difficulty breathing after vomiting or spitting up; yellow vomit; or, vomit with blood.

If an infant does not respond well to the natural treatments for infant reflex detailed in this article, this can be indicated by poor weight gain or by weight loss, excessive crying or irritability, parents may nee