My three year old son has been exhibiting reflux like symptoms for a while now and it seems to have gotten progressively worse. He burps under his breath and sometimes a little bit comes up and sometimes a whole mouthful of partially digested food. He doesn't complain about it but I know it has to be uncomfortable! He also has mild eczema and so I'm thinking he must have some food allergy that is causing it. I took him to the pediatrician and was prescribed Zantac which I have yet to try. I know it will help but I want to get to the root of the problem rather than fixing the symptoms. Has anyone else seen this in their child? Input?
It just sounds like reflux to me. He could try to eat several small meals per day instead of sitting down to a full meal 3 times per day plus snacks.
This works with my when I'm having reflux more often. Also foods that aren't so heavy.
It is fairly common for babies and toddlers to have gerd. They usually outgrow it when their digestive system matures.
As others have said, do start the medicine so that you are protecting his esophageal lining from erosion by the stomach acid.
I have both food allergies and gerd. The two do not seem related and doctors have not suggested that they could be.
My granddaughter has eczema and as a baby it was related to food allergies. She has outgrown the food allergies and still has eczema. She never had gerd.
Try the Zantac for awhile. I had to give it to my youngest when he was 2. He complained constantly that his belly was "hot" and burped a lot. The pediatrician said we could try it for a month, and then take him off to see if the symptoms were gone. It worked, and his symptoms disappeared.
Try the medicine. Why let him suffer. If it works, great. If it does not you can investigate further. Try small meals ofTen too.
Try smaller meals.
Besides acid reflux if his stomach is being filled beyond it's capacity, throwing up a bit is to be expected.
His stomach is about the size of his fist.
The amount of food he eats per meal should not be larger than that (and take into account how much he drinks with each meal, too).
Something my mom didn't know until I was in 7th grade was that my esophagus was small. That was why I spit up SO much when I was little. It could be the same with your child. Unless you take him to a ped gastroenterologist, you won't know.
I do think that it would be good for you to do an elimination diet to see if you can figure this out, but don't wait long to get to the medicine. Reflux can damage those delicate tissues. Make a list of every single thing your son eats. Pick a few things to eliminate and write them down. Keep a food diary of everything he does eat, and see if taking some things away helps. If not, choose another group to eliminate. It might be hard because it will seem like you are getting rid of everything. At the point that he gets better (if he does), put back something you took away at the beginning. Make sure he gets vitamins and calcium in alternate forms so that he isn't lacking while you try this.
If there are no discernable breakthroughs, you need to use the medicine and wait til he gets bigger.
This actually sounds more like rumination syndrome, which is the effortless regurgitation of undigested food. You might ask your doctor about this.
I have had digestive problems for years. I don't know about when I was a toddler. When I first was diagnosed they said I had Bulemia (age 15) then when they actually LOOKED at the food that was coming back up they found food that was at times 3 days old. They did a endoscopy and found that I had a nervous esophygous (sp). I would let him begin the Zantac and see if it helps, if it does not then ask your Ped to refer you to a specialist. My #2 Grangirl has had problems since birth with reflux and now that she is older (18) they are giving her Nexium and that keeps the reflux under control for her. I hope he gets some relief and you get some answers, it's terrible to have this condition.
