Help! My 8 month old has hoarse cry/Reflux
My DD is 8 months old. She started with a hoarse cry around 5 months that would not go away. She never actually throws up....just the hoarse cry and uncomfortable when sleeping. Up until this point, she was a great sleeper. We went to ENT and they looked down her throat...saw some swelling and diagnosed her with reflux. She went on zantac and was on that for about a month. Her cry wasn't as bad but still hoarse and she still wasn't sleeping. We switched to Prevacid...didn't help either. We went back to zantac and are still having issues. We have tried taking her to a homeopathic doctor that did a soft tissue chiropractic move to try to move her stomach down. They also suggested using probiotics with her to try to settle her tummy. I have tried keeping track of her eating schedule and my own (breastfeeding) and can't see a correlation. We have also tried formula and that hasn't worked either. She is still hoarse and is up every 1-2 hours at night. I am not sure where to go at this point. Back to the ENT? Homeopathic? If anyone has any ideas, i would certainly appreciate it.
Dear Stacy,
I am sure you are frustrated by the ongoing symptoms. An ENT can look at the upper airway and sinus cavity. You might need to consult a Pediatric Gastroenterologist (specialist in digestive issues) and a Pediatric Allergist. Hoarseness can be caused by Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, allergies (food and environmental), upper airway irritation and more.
The irritation to the airway/lungs may be causing your little one to wake up at night. Some babies and most adults have silent reflux: the food comes part way up the food pipe and goes back to the stomach. Do you hear loud gulping or throat clearing after a meal? Wet burps?
Silent reflux can be very irritating to the foodpipe(esophagus) because food and stomach contents are not supposed to have ongoing contact with the sensitive area. The stomach lining is set up to withstand the acid exposure, not the foodpipe.
Non medication approaches to reflux include: small, frequent meals, holding upright after a meal, burp often and loosen the diaper to allow room for the stomach. If your daughter is growing despite it all, a non medication, wait and see approach may be appropriate. I know the sleep deprivation is painful to all. Perhaps sleeping on an incline would help.
There is much information about GERD on this site. Let me know if you have further questions.
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom
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Thanks so much for your input, Jan. Yes, she does have wet burps a lot. When she cries and night and you pick her up that is exactly what she does. She slept for a 6 hour stretch last night which she hasn't done in quite a while. I have her back on the Prevacid and tried putting it in her breakfast rather than just dissolving in water. Maybe she wasn't getting enough of it the first time around??? I do have her sleeping on an incline and hold her upright for atleast 1/2 hour before putting her down. She is on the lower end of the weight chart. I am going to give it a few days to see if last night was a start to an improvement. I am crossing my fingers. Her 9 m appt is also coming up so I can talk to her Ped about the gastroenterologist. Thanks again.
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Dear Stacy, I am glad the 9 month check up is coming soon. Be sure to keep track of her symptoms day to day in a journal or running record so you can report all of the observations to the doctor.
The Prevacid is a sensitive medication. It is best given on an empty stomach, 30 minutes before a meal. I know you are probably thinking this is impossible to accomplish with a baby. Just do the best you can. I know most babies wake up and demand food before getting rid of the wet diaper! Also, it is important to follow the pharmacy/manufacturer directions. If it is the capsule with beads, see if she will tolerate it sprinkled on a small amount of applesauce. If it is the solutab, it can be mixed into a liquid and drawn into a medicine syringe. Ask the pharmacy for further advice or log onto the Prevacid website for information. There is some evidence that babies metabolize this type of medicine faster than adults. Some doctors split the dose into two smaller doses, 12 hours apart rather than once every 24 hours.
Here's hoping you both are getting some rest. I am sure 6 hours felt wonderful. I hope the trend continues!
Take care,
Jan
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