Treating reflux while it is occuring in an infant

Hi 

I wanted to know what to do when my baby is having a reflux episode ie the food/residue comes back up via nose/mouth and he starts crying.  He is currently on pepcid. He was on priolosec but had a reaction to it so we switched to pepcid.  The last episode he had, my husband gave him a little breastmilk and it seemed to calm him a bit.  Is this a good idea or is there something else we should try.

Hi,

I am so sorry that your baby is hurting so much, it must be really painful if stuff comes out of his nose. It must be really painful for you to watch too...

The prilosec or pepsid may not really stop food from being regurgitated but it might calm down the irritation that acid causes. There are many simple things that you can try: when burping your child gently pat his back instead of moving your palm up and down (this really helped my kid burp without bringing the food up); let him sleep on a raised wedge (or babiesRus has a reflux pillow); for some kids holding them upright helps and for some simple remedies such as gripe water are helpful. Also, ask you dr if your baby can try Prevacid instead of prilosec-- our pediatrician recently told me that prevacid is a drug of choice for very young infants and new borns (not prilosec)....and most importantly if breast milk calms your baby but formula causes regurgitation check if your baby has cow milk protein allergies because sometimes these allergies can cause reflux type symptoms or even mimic reflux-- it's important to eliminate that. Good luck and keep us posted. Jan is the expert on this site and I am sure she will have more useful tips for you.