Treating Reflux in Children?

[JumpyTheFrog]

It looks like DS11 has silent reflux. It seemed like his allergies (dust mites and mold) were getting worse, so we decided to start giving him Pepcid AC for a week or two to see if it helped. It has cut down on the coughing significantly. Unfortunately, since DS doesn't have heartburn, it will be harder to figure out his triggers. Two friends both mentioned avoiding dairy. We started an elimination diet yesterday.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I think he does have some specific food triggers, whether they are other intolerances or causing reflux. (Food allergy testing in August didn't find anything.)

[Gobblygook]

My son had pretty severe reflux as an infant, so much so that he had a Nissen procedure done to prevent him from refluxing. It failed, so now he is treated by a GI doctor with omeprazole. 

[Katy]

Try avoiding onions & limiting garlic. If he must eat them, make them cooked.

Some people in my family also get reflux from oil and from corn syrup. 
 

ETA:  do check with your pediatrician. One of my kids was treated for reflux as a newborn and the doctor mentioned needing to wean him off before 6 months because some of those drugs affect growth.

Edited March 17, 2021 by Katy

[Pawz4me]

I think I'd want a doctor's advice about that.

I have silent reflux and the only triggers I can firmly identify are stress and raw onions. Stress is far and away my biggest trigger.

[J-rap]

My ds had pretty severe reflux as a baby, and lots of stomach aches as a child.  Now, he's learned he is at least mildly sensitive to all kinds of foods, including gluten and dairy.  (He can still eat it on a limited basis though.)  I remember that the only thing I could for sure link to his reflux based on what I was eating when I was nursing him was green peppers.  

My dd had silent reflux when she was older, maybe around your ds's age?  (Not so much as a baby.)  We only realized it by looking at her pillow in the mornings.  We weren't really able to link it to specific foods, although she eventually discovered that she's quite allergic to many raw fruits and vegetables.  She also developed asthma about the same time (mostly triggered by dust, dank/musty places, old cigarette smoke, cats, sometimes being outside in freezing cold, and I think the mold on leaves after they've fallen off trees).   She also eventually developed chronic migraines for a number of years.  It started with stomach aches (maybe around 12 or so?) which in hind site were diagnosed as migraine stomach aches (without the headache).  Eventually those morphed into the more typical migraine headache, and they pretty much continued through high school and into her mid 20's.  (Now she just gets maybe one/month.)  

In the end, her reflux went away... Perhaps it was somehow associated with her allergies, migraines, or asthma.  She seems to have everything under control now!  And she's learned to stay away from allergy/migraine triggers.

ETA:  My dd did see a doctor about her silent reflux, and he put her on a prescription for several months, at least.  I can't remember for how long or what it was though.  I believe it helped, but mostly it got better when she either outgrew it or got a better handle on her other health conditions/triggers.)

Edited March 17, 2021 by J-rap

[prairiewindmomma]

For my girls, reflux is tied to dairy, mostly. Allergy testing was negative for dairy, but it is a strong, strong association. For me it is strictly positional.

One of the girls is on famotidine (H2 inhibitor). We appreciate the overflow help with allergies. She had previously been on Prevacid, but I have hesitation about long term PPI medication use unless there is soft tissue damage occurring from the reflux.

Heads up your son should get a special fluoride toothpaste. We learned that AFTER a ton of dental work was required.

[Pawz4me]

21 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

 

One of the girls is on famotidine (H2 inhibitor). We appreciate the overflow help with allergies.

I was wondering, but didn't feel knowledgeable enough to mention it, if it's possible that @JumpyTheFrog's son's problem could possibly be allergies, and the antihistamine effect from the Pepcid (or the added effect, if he's already taking another antihistamine) was helping that, and what she's seeing may be improvement in allergies rather than improvement in reflux. It took me a very long time to figure out that I was having silent reflux and that my problem wasn't allergies. They really do mimic each other.

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, Pawz4me said:

I was wondering, but didn't feel knowledgeable enough to mention it, if it's possible that @JumpyTheFrog's son's problem could possibly be allergies, and the antihistamine effect from the Pepcid (or the added effect, if he's already taking another antihistamine) was helping that, and what she's seeing may be improvement in allergies rather than improvement in reflux. It took me a very long time to figure out that I was having silent reflux and that my problem wasn't allergies. They really do mimic each other.

Yeah, I was taking her at her word re: silent reflux. Cough variant asthma is a thing...and if coughing is the only indicator, that’s certainly something to sort out.

Our reflux isn’t silent.