Purple Spit Up on Prevacid

What's worse than a baby who spits up? A baby who spits up purple.

If your baby is under treatment for reflux with Prevacid, this may be par for the course. As Prevacid becomes more commonly used to treat difficult acid reflux in babies, we're hearing parents report the occasional presence of bluish/purple streaks in their baby's spit up.

While foreign-appearing spit up is almost always a source of concern for parents, this discoloration has been shown to represent part of the coating in Prevacid's delayed release beads.

While you should always talk to your doctor about the strange things your baby brings up, this may be an unknown to your pediatrician. I receive a couple of phone calls every month regarding this complaint, and in most cases the pediatricians were puzzled.

Of course as pediatricians become more accustomed to the recognition of acid reflux in babies, so too will we be more comfortable with the medications used in its treatment.