Hi,
My 7-month old son's silent reflux flared up this week. We took him to the Dr who suggested that we switch medications. I am OK with that, but in general I don't like that my little guy has to take drugs. I know I am a worry-wart but I wonder if it will stunt the growth of some important function. Anyway, I have heard that reflux is actually caused by too little stomach acid, which causes over production, so something as simple as having a bit of vinegar helps. Has anyone tried this or other natural remedies? Did they work?
Thanks!!!

Jill & Tay

Hi,
My 7-month old son's silent reflux flared up this week. We took him to the Dr who suggested that we switch medications. I am OK with that, but in general I don't like that my little guy has to take drugs. I know I am a worry-wart but I wonder if it will stunt the growth of some important function. Anyway, I have heard that reflux is actually caused by too little stomach acid, which causes over production, so something as simple as having a bit of vinegar helps. Has anyone tried this or other natural remedies? Did they work?
Thanks!!!

Jill & Tay

I think we would need a bit more information here to really be able to guide you.;-) What medication is he on now, what ones has he tried, how bad is his reflux (is he food averted, FTT, suffer from other complications at all?), and what medication does the doctor want to switch him to? Any testing done at all to check for esophagitis?

The main reason for usuing the meds is to prevent or help keep at bay esophagitis which can be an absolute nightmare for our little refluxers. What symptoms does your son have?

I have heard about the underproduction of stomach acid theory, but in the end you still end up with far too much production of stomach acid and that needs to be addresses. I share your concern about pouring seemingly endless amounts of medication into your child and I myself have cut back on Iain's asthma meds, but only because we have a good handle on it presently and we watch for signs of his needing it again. I have thoroughly researched most meds for stunting growth and the answers I have found is a resounding no. It is just my research and the word of our ped, GI, dietician, and OT plus many here as well, so I would ask your doctor for yourself and see what they say to put your mind at ease. Usually, it is not a PPI that is a problem in any way, just steroids and such which can be suspect.

I know of no one who has given vinegar to help with reflux, but that is not to say people have not done it. It is a trigger however for causing worse reflux, so I would be very careful with that in a child so young, especially since I do not know where he stands in the eating and complications area. And good luck getting him to take it! lol It is a nightmare to get them to take many things and I would surely wonder how to get vinegar into the kiddo.

What information do you have for the vinegar? And where did you get it? We are always looking for alternative treatments and to broaden our information here, so I am quite curious about it. :-)

I actually tried apple cider vinegar because that is what I read helped acid reflux. She took it but I could tell it was very hard to get it down. I didn't notice any difference in her. So I didn't feel it was worth trying to choke it down her. I have used Colic Calm when she was much younger and found it to be the most helpful. However it wasn't the cure all. I am presently taking her to a chiropractor that uses the activator method and hope that he can help her in some way. I am taking her mainly for her ear infections but he says that he can help her with the reflux too.

Michelle

I didn't want my kiddos on meds either but I chose this route after trying all of the suggested lifestyle changes. I have never tried home remedies as my boys are infants and I am hesitant to introduce homeopathic medicine w/them for fear I would introduce something to their immature systems that they wouldn't be able to handle. Since most (I stress most, not all) kids do not stay on reflux meds over a year, I think the short term good effects outweigh any minimal long term side effects of the meds. Zantac has been used for a long time on infants and has been found to have little to no short term side effects and no long term side effects. PPI's have so far shown no long term side effects in the majority of users. There is always a risk w/any med that you give a child, there is always the small percentage or fraction of a percentage of children who do have a side effect. But that's true of most things in life, there are no guarantees.

I have not heard of using vinegar for reflux. I would like to point out though that homeopathic or prescription meds will not do anything to resolve spitting up issues caused by the lax sphincter muscle which allows the stomach contents to reflux up through the esophagus. So even if it does resolve the acid issue it will not decrease the spitting up if your child does this.

We used Viburcol in addition to regular meds and it worked great for gas. I couldn't get Gripe Water down him and Mylecon didn't work.

http://www.holistic-physician.com/shop/index.php?shop=1&itemid=447

We got it from Payton's chiropractor. They are pricy, but well worth it for a few hours of sleep.

The chiropractic works for Payton too.

I have to add that I was leery of giving Payton drugs. I weaned him off of Prilosec at one point because I was convinced that his excessive gas was due to too little acid left to digest his food. Boy did I make a mistake. I really set us back with that one and I regret it to this day - nearly a year later.

I wouldn't go giving your little one vinegar without the recommendation and advice of a certified homeopathic physician or Chinese herbalist. I would be terrified of giving him the wrong dosage. You can bring your baby's diagnosis and current medications to these people and see what they say. Sometimes a combination of western and eastern medicine can work wonders. There are also accupressure points that can help with reflux, but I honestly don't remember where they are. I took Payton to an accupuncturist as well, but I think the chirporactic worked better.

There are certain afflictions and illnesses that do require us to medicate our children. After having been through what we went through, I can honestly say that reflux is one of them. Reflux is a multi-faceted problem. Yes - it has to do with the acid production, but there are physical abnormalities that cause it too, like a weak sphincter at the top of the stomach or a too tight Pyloris. It is so much deeper than that too.

So my recommendation to you is to keep up the meds and seek out the council of a homeopath to add naturals to your child's regimine.

Good luck!

I didn't want my kiddos on meds either but I chose this route after trying all of the suggested lifestyle changes. I have never tried home remedies as my boys are infants and I am hesitant to introduce homeopathic medicine w/them for fear I would introduce something to their immature systems that they wouldn't be able to handle. Since most (I stress most, not all) kids do not stay on reflux meds over a year, I think the short term good effects outweigh any minimal long term side effects of the meds. Zantac has been used for a long time on infants and has been found to have little to no short term side effects and no long term side effects. PPI's have so far shown no long term side effects in the majority of users. There is always a risk w/any med that you give a child, there is always the small percentage or fraction of a percentage of children who do have a side effect. But that's true of most things in life, there are no guarantees.

I have not heard of using vinegar for reflux. I would like to point out though that homeopathic or prescription meds will not do anything to resolve spitting up issues caused by the lax sphincter muscle which allows the stomach contents to reflux up through the esophagus. So even if it does resolve the acid issue it will not decrease the spitting up if your child does this.


I came back to this thread to edit a bit what I had said and really Stephanie has said what I would have added!:-) Thanks, Stephanie. :hug: I just wanted to add in that many homeopathic remedies can cause problems, too. We just are led to a false sense of security in thinking that over the counter medication is less likely to cause problems than prescription meds sometimes and that is certainly not the case.

I also wanted to add, that I read about the vinegar thing, but people who had tried it, said that it "burned like fire" did she cry when you did it? I'm just curious.
I hope that the flare up doesn't last too long. Poor baby. :(

Thank you so much for all of your input! I haven't actually tried any natural remedies yet, just thinking about it. I may check out the chiroprators in the area.

My son has silent reflux, so keeping food down isn't an issue. He is currently on Zantac and the new rx is for Losec. Poor little guy has been up screaming at night and his voice has gone all hoarse, although yesterday wasn't as bad so maybe the flare-up has passed...hopefully!

Thanks so much!
Jill & Tay

I too have heard that apple cidar vinegar is good, I even got so far as to buying it, but I have never tried it. In the beginning I was going to cure reflux and I have tried a big range of things, and truly the only thing that has helped has been the PPI.

I do know what you are saying and it is very hard to choose, but take peace in the fact that these meds are prescribed very frequently and most kids have no side effects.

Thank you so much for all of your input! I haven't actually tried any natural remedies yet, just thinking about it. I may check out the chiroprators in the area.

My son has silent reflux, so keeping food down isn't an issue. He is currently on Zantac and the new rx is for Losec. Poor little guy has been up screaming at night and his voice has gone all hoarse, although yesterday wasn't as bad so maybe the flare-up has passed...hopefully!

Thanks so much!
Jill & Tay


You may see a huge difference with the PPI. We sure did when we moved from zantac to prevacid. Actually, we ran the two alongside each other for many months, but our miracle drug here was definately the prevacid. It was night and day for Iain. And he is a silent refluxer, too.;-)

Each GERDling reacts differently to different things. It is so hard to know what combo will work and you just have to try and try again sometimes. We tried prevacid twice before it worked for us.

Does your son eat well then? Most people think that silent reflux means that they have no weight issues at all and that is false. Some eat and eat and eat until they balloon up and others like Iain become totally food averted and hit FTT. Again, it depends on the child.

Be sure to see if you can run the zantac with it for the first 2 weeks until the PPI kicks in fully. And be sure to let us know when you start and keep us updated so we can cheer you on.:-)

Thanks again for all of the advice! Before my son was on Zantac, he ate every single hour round the clock. I took him to see soooo many medical professionals and they all said, but look how well he is gaining weight, he must be fine. And when we finally diagnosed the problem, the pediatrician said that he was basically obese! ooo the frustration! So now that he is eating every 3-4 hrs, his weight gain has slowed and so it isn't an issue anymore.
:)

That is so frustrating for sure! My ped is used to seeing the comfort feeders and the kids who look like Mac trucks as a result so she was taken by surprise with my total non-eating silent refluxer who hit FTT. It seems that peds all have a certain idea of what reflux looks like when they should know it has many faces. Mine has become very educated and is a great source of support to us now. Maybe your ped needs a lesson on comfort feeding.;-)

My daughter also gained weight well as she was a comfort eater but as it has taken 8 months to find a med that helps she started to refuse solids and her weight gain was slowing. I just know if things had continued she would have become FTT as i think she got to the point where it had clicked that food was causing the pain so she wouldn't eat:sad2:
I would say most of us don't like to give our kids meds but without them they are so bad that if the med helps its all good!

I hope your little one feels better! RE. the cider vinegar, I can tell you that I actually tried it- on myself, not my ds, as I have bouts w/ heartburn/reflux. It did work somewhat, BUT the relief was VERY short-lived, like maybe 1 hr... so after trying it a few times I went back to regular meds, it wasn't worth drinking 2-3 tbsp vinegar every hr. Anyway, we use prilosec on ds. Good luck to you and your little one :)

Someone DH works with suggested we let Lily suck on a piece of peppermint candy. Ummmm, ok. Sure.
Excuse me, ladies, while I head right to the store for candycanes. Uh huh.