What To Do When Children Have Acid Reflux

Acid reflux may seem like an “adults only” condition but kids can have it to!

So, if your child is suffering from acid reflux chances are they won’t just “outgrow it”, here’s what to look out for…

Hi, I’m Dr. Wanda Bedinghaus, functional medicine doctor and pediatrician

Traditionally when kids are suffering from acid reflux their pediatrician will suggest that they will outgrow it or give them acid reflux meds to calm the burn. Sadly, neither of these approaches are dealing with the real reason they have the reflux in the first place!

Question:  

Do you know that children can get acid reflux for a number of reasons including stress, food allergies or intolerances, bacterial infections, and low stomach acid? Type Yes or NO in the comments below…

Often acid reflux is a sign of low stomach acid not high stomach acid.  That seems like a paradox, doesn’t it?  Your doctor may recommend an antacid or an acid-blocking drug when your child actually needs to have stomach acids to begin the digestion process.

 Acid reflux can also be caused by an undiagnosed food allergy or sensitivity like gluten or dairy and both of these foods are so prevalent in most kids’ diets! Bacterial infections and bacterial overgrowths like SIBO, h pylori, and candida can also play a role in acid reflux and most standardized testing doesn’t pick up these conditions. This is why many children are given medications for acid reflux or misdiagnosed with conditions like IBS.

In order to properly deal with acid reflux, a careful look at diet is so much a part of the Functional Medicine approach. In addition to a change in diet, tests to assess how your child is digesting fats and proteins gives more important information about the state of gut health. 

Stress is also an important factor is gut health. Children who are anxious are more likely to have disordered digestion.  Teaching our children how to deal with stress can play a huge role in how they are digesting their food.

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