reflux cough

[HowlingCow]

My 16 week DD has had reflux since she was born and is on Gaviscon. She's also got permanent cough-did have a chest infection which she had penicillin for and now sounds really rattly. Doc says her chest is clear and has given ephidrine nose drops to give before feeds but practice nurse says reflux will make her cough and the Gaviscon should help. Anyone else have this kind of experience-am I giving enough Gaviscon (twice a day)? Also HV says its unusual for breastfed babies to have reflux-is mine the only one? (Sorry for so many questions!!)

[thisisyesterday]

it certainly isn't unusual for breastfed babies to have reflux. I know several.

I wonder however, if you have tried cutting out dairy at all? dairy can make you quite mucousy and can irritate reflux as well, so may help. you need to cut it out for about 2-3 weeks though to see if it makes a difference.

[RubySlippers]

aw your poor DD

my DS had silent reflux so a permanently hoarse throat and cries

he only really got sorted on two meds called domperidone and ranitadine (one moves food thorugh the gut more quickly and the other is an antacid)

Gavsiscon is not a medicine as such, and forms a kind of layer over the stomach contents IIRC

ALL babies have a degree of reflux (due to the immaturity of their digestive systems) but for some babies it is more pronounced

Your HV is therefore not correct when she says that a BF baby is unusual to have reflux

if your DD doesn't improve, get a referal to a Paed for these meds

[gagarin]

I think it is the other way round - "it is unusual for mothers of babies with reflux to still be feeding them at 16 weeks!"

What generally happens is this...

You say

"my baby cries/screams/struggles all the time - and I'm breastfeeding"

your mum/friends/GP/HV/midwife says

"oh - that'll be because she's not getting enough/cos the milk is too weak/cos you're doing it wrong - why don't you bottle feed?"

then you say

"my baby cries/screams/struggles all the time - and I'm bottlefeeding"

your GP/midwife/HV/paediatrician says

"that'll be reflux then"

[HowlingCow]

Thanks for messages-like it gagarin! Cutting out dairy products might be idea-I do drink a lot of milk esp. when bf'ing-will be hard but will give it a go for DD's sake.

[gagarin]

not sure about dairy allergy passing through breastmilk to cause/worsen reflux?

I would go for feeding in an upright position (the baby and you!) - like cross-legged on the bed with dd's bum in the "well" between your legs. And then stick her in the car seat straight afterwards? Obvioulsy not all day but for up to an hour during the day?

[RubySlippers]

i was recommended the rugby ball hold for a refluxy baby

[HowlingCow]

I'm wondering if reflux improves when babies start solids-sounds silly but does something like baby rice weigh more so have less chance of coming back up? My neighbour recommended renitidine ruby s. TBH the Gaviscon has reduced the vomiting drastically but the cough sounds awful.

[thisisyesterday]

gagarin, I know 2 people who have gone dairy free and found it helped considerably with the reflux.
obviously that's just anecdotal. But it does no harm to try

[Boboma]

You want to be giving Gaviscon after every feed according to the instructions (dual sachet over 4.5kg if I remember right up to 6 times per day). It forms a float on the milk to stop it going the wrong way, so you want it everytime milk goes in! My DD has been on Gaviscon since a few weeks and is now 14 mths and still needing it. She did improve when weaned but absolutely no difference BF to bottle (Gagarin made me laugh!)Other meds didn't agree with my DD, but worth you trying if nasty cough persists - has to be a paed though to prescribe. Keep upright for half hour after feed - we used bouncy chair, and put cot legs on tilt to get gravity helping.

[gagarin]

dairy free for how long would you suggest? it can be quite a complex diet if carried out rigorously.

[Jen1978]

My DS1 is now nearly 15 months and has silent reflux. He was terrible as a tiny baby when I was bf, used to feed for 5 mins, then come off and scream and scream, but also had a tongue tie so that didn't help! He never actually projectile vomited, so the hv said it wasn't reflux. We went through hell with him not sleeping, waking every hour right up until he was 8 months old, making strange gagging noises and coughing a lot at night. It was awful, finally got a referral to a paed who said it was silent reflux and prescribed two meds - domperidone to speed up emptying of his tummy and omeprazole - something to completly stop acid production in his stomoach. Within a week he was a changed boy!
Sadly now he is nearly 15 months, he is still on the meds, the reflux is an instant problem if we try to come off them so not sure what will happen.

My advice would be to increase the gaviscon - it is hard to give to a bf baby, got to muck around dissolving in water or breast milk and giving in a syringe, but maybe do it 4 times a day if you can. Also like others have said, keep your lo upright as much as possible, the bouncy chair is a good plan. Also raise the head end of her bed so she is not lying flat.
Hope this helps.

[thisisyesterday]

you usually need to be dairy free for around 2-3 weeks to make sure it is completely eliminated from your (and the baby's) system.
although, most people I have spoken to have found an improvement sooner than that, if it is the problem.

I am currently egg and dairy free for ds2's sake, and hoping he'll grow out of it soon lol

[stives3]

HI have been searching the net for help with my son now 15months old with severe reflux!He was diagnosed at 4months ,i was given gaviscon which as i was b.f was a big pain to give him, i found carrying around a Avent bottle with boiled water to mix medicine and using the lid to mix the gaviscon in was the best option,then use a syringe to get it into mouth.my son did not improve with the gaviscon and after a bout of brown mocous mixed with blood we were put on Domperidone and renatadine this worked for a while !At 9 months we were put on Omeprazole this hes been gr8 but we have to stay on it as at 12 months with intro of cows milk all symptoms got much worse!had a terrible time getting him to eat any lumpy food and now it seems soya is a hot topic for discussion with it causing infertility!MY son has soya yog and cheese Anyone out there had a similar experience?

[Refluxtoby]

HI I am having terrible trouble getting my 16 month baby off purees having had severe reflux all of his life. he has taken all the meds out there and we are under a paed at the hospital - Dom Peridgnon Renitidin OMeprazole and Losec We are slowly weanign down so only taking one Losec a day but with special milk but my problem is that he only will eat purees still apart from the odd biscuit and baby crisp thing. The hospital says this is normal and its a slow process but would love you to post something on whether your child had the tendancy to not want to move onto more normal none baby pureed food. its been a long road for us as its my second child and his reflux has been spectacularly bad - hospitalised twice so would be grateful if you would post something on this or anyone who has this problem. Its been a nightmare although he is such a special boy. Thanks so much.