For those of you who have always thought that acid reflux just affects adults, well, think again. Infant acid reflux is believed to be one of the most terrible health conditions that often occur in babies.The disease is a body condition which allows stomach content to flow back into the throat via the esophagus.This brings about a burning sensation as the content comprises of body acid which is corrosive in nature. This condition is characterized by various causes, symptoms and even possible treatment. The main symptoms of infant acid reflux include spitting up, frequent unexplainable crying and burping accompanied by the baby vomiting.When acid finds its way into the throat a painful sensation is felt and naturally the baby reacts by spitting up to try and remove the sour solution from the body and relieve himself of the painful ordeal and for this reason, the baby is seen to be spitting most of the time especially after meals.Unlike adults who are able to say and explain whatever is bothering them,most infants do not have words to put across.Therefore, the baby resorts to crying when he is subjected to intense pain caused by this health problem as it is almost the only sure way for him to catch your attention and be provided with necessary help. Vomiting and burping is another symptom of infant acid reflux used by many parents to confirm that their babies are suffering from the disease.It occurs after stuff from the stomach comes along with gas back to the throat. When this happens,a body reflex is triggered and gas comes out through the mouth and burping is what follows next.If the stomach content is not able to be separated from the gas, then it will come out with it in the form of vomit. One major cause of this terrible body condition is believed to be an underdeveloped digestive system. Ingested food does not get properly digested and this reduces the rate of food metabolism significantly.A lot of discomfort is brought about to the infant as the stomach is kept full and pressure within it increases as a result of the action. When much pressure is developed, the food content together with gastric acid from the stomach is forced to go up the esophagus and possibly find its way into the throat.The infant gets a terrible feeling due to acid subjecting the tender tissues to some form of burning and this automatically does not go down well with the baby. Another cause of infant acid reflux is the presence of a defective valve that covers the top of the esophagus. The valve is supposed to work by only allowing content from the mouth to move down to the stomach and not the other way round. When the valve is defective enough to allow substance coming from the stomach to pass and enter the throat area, body acid takes the opportunity also to pass.A reaction coming from the corrosive acid and the baby's tender tissues brings with it a burning sensation and naturally the infant will react the best way it knows how. Having stated the above causes of this disease,it is almost second nature to want to know about the treatment of infant acid reflux. Few remedies like elevating the baby's upper body part when sleeping could be used to restrain the acid from reaching the throat area due to gravitational forces coming from the stomach pulling it down. Another remedy is to ensure that the baby gets to take a lot of water which will help him flash and clear away any presence of acid in the esophagus hence preventing it from ever reaching the throat.You will notice that no major treatment is being mentioned here.The reason is that, infant acid reflux is said to disappear on its own when the baby reaches the age of about one year and if it persists, then medical attention should be sought and after learning about this disease,ensure that your baby does not suffer from it. Wangeci Kinyanjui has been researching and reporting on Health Matters for years.For more information on infant acid reflux visit her site at INFANT ACID REFLUX
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