Researchers say many antacids are ineffective in helping breadbasket problems, and some may increase a baby's chance for bone fractures.

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Experts say dietary changes may be ane way to avoid giving a baby antacids for tum problems. Getty Images

An infant's pain or distress can be heartbreaking to watch for some new parents.

We instinctively want to make them better as speedily every bit possible. But sometimes the easiest solution comes with unintended consequences.

A new study published this calendar month in the journal Pediatrics concludes that infants who are given antacids in their first yr of life take a significantly higher run a risk for bone fractures every bit they get older.

Infant reflux, also called gastroesophageal reflux (GER), is when stomach acid flows back into the tube connecting a baby'southward oral fissure and tummy. It'south one reason why babies spit up.

This condition is rarely serious. It happens less often every bit baby gets older, typically resolving by 18 months.

"Baby reflux is common and normal in young infants and is often implicated equally a cause of fussiness past parents and providers," Elizabeth Hisle-Gorman, PhD, the study's corresponding author and an assistant professor of pediatrics at Uniformed Services Academy of the Health Sciences in Maryland, told Healthline.

"While acid suppression in infants may be appropriate in sure cases of gastroesophageal reflux disease, there's a growing body of testify that acrid-suppression medication use in infants is non simply ineffective but may be associated with adverse effects that include an increased risk of infections," Hisle-Gorman said.

According to Hisle-Gorman, her study adds to the evidence confronting antacid use for infants "by finding that there likewise may be adverse furnishings on os wellness, leading to an increased risk for fracture."

"Our study and prior research on agin effects of acid-suppressive medications suggest that [antacid] use in infancy should be avoided if possible, and when necessary should be initiated at older ages and prescribed for as short a period as possible," she said.

Dr. Jacqueline Jossen, an assistant professor of pediatric gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, notes that GER is simply "the movement of stomach contents backward into the esophagus that can be accompanied by regurgitation or vomiting."

In nearly cases, information technology's nothing to worry nigh.

"It's a normal physiologic process in healthy infants, and we refer to these babies equally 'happy spitters,'" Jossen told Healthline.

Nonetheless, Jossen says when the symptoms of reflux become more serious, there can be adverse consequences.

These include poor eating habits, significant discomfort, and lower weight proceeds.

That's when a D is added to designate GERD, a disease adversely affecting a baby'south health.

Common antacids neutralize the body's stomach acid to reduce the symptoms of acid reflux and heartburn.

These over-the-counter antacids include:

  • Pepto-Bismol
  • Tums
  • Milk of Magnesia
  • Alka-Seltzer

Only there are ii types of powerful antacids that take broader furnishings on the stomach.

It's these that Hisle-Gorman's written report ended can increase the risk of fracture in children.

H2 blockers, besides chosen histamine H2 receptor antagonists, work by really decreasing the amount of acid produced by the tummy, rather than neutralizing what's already there. They include famotidine (Pepcid) and ranitidine (Zantac).

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are now the virtually commonly prescribed class of medication to relieve tum acid-related disorders.

They work by completely blocking the cells that produce acid.

Examples of PPIs include lansoprazole (Prevacid) and omeprazole (Prilosec).

Antacids aren't the only way to salvage GER symptoms.

In that location are simple actions parents can take on their own.

"I always recommend behavioral interventions earlier moving on to other options," Jossen said.

She recommends that parents effort "smaller, more frequent feeds and holding the infant upright for at to the lowest degree 20 minutes after a canteen equally the offset intervention."

"They should also exist certain the babies are burping adequately," she said, "and when canteen-feeding, check if the period of the nipple is too fast."

Jossen explains that a milk allergy may besides be the reason for GER symptoms.

In that case, she recommends a replacement.

"Giving a hypoallergenic formula for ii to iv weeks may be tried," she said. "Although one of the typical symptoms for milk poly peptide intolerance is blood in the stool, at that place are some infants intolerant to cow's milk that may show significant GER symptoms instead."

Jossen adds that if making those adjustments doesn't work and GER is still an issue, then she would consider other approaches.

As distressing as watching your child spit upwards and cry after feeding can be, Jossen reminds parents that this is a condition that virtually always improves with time.

"Both GER and GERD will meliorate with time, and the prognosis is practiced," she said. "I generally tell parents that once a baby tin sit down, the symptoms actually should first improving, and the majority of either condition resolves past the fourth dimension baby begins to walk."

"In typical GER or GERD, there are no long-term consequences," she added, "and I exercise not anticipate that these infants will be more prone to gastrointestinal bug than other children in the future."

Some infants can experience excessive spitting upwardly and discomfort after feeding that'southward chosen gastroesophageal reflux, or GER.

When the symptoms are bad enough that a baby doesn't put on weight and experiences prolonged discomfort, it's called GERD.

Antacids can relieve these symptoms.

However, recent enquiry concludes these drugs may exist ineffective. Certain classes of antacids may also raise the risk of bone fracture.

Experts say there are methods and dietary changes that should be tried first earlier using medications.