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Infant Has Acid Reflux Problem And Burping A Bad Smell. What Treatment Should Be Done?

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Posted on Thu, 4 Apr 2013
Question: My 22 month old had acid reflux when he was born. He now seems to be having the same issue. Screaming when laying down n waking up screaming. Not like a temper tantrum, like he screamed as a baby with acid reflux, like horrible pain. I kept his dinner light tonight but he grabbed his chest n said "owie, owie" over n over. I have also noticed lately his breath or burp will smell like raw meat. Does the raw meat smell mean its even worse than I think?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (12 minutes later)
Hi,

Thanks for writing to health care magic.

Is your child on any medication for the reflux?
Did he improve with those medications?
Was a endoscopy or other investigations performed at any time?
Does he have this pain in the center of the chest recurrently or only recently you noticed this?
From when is the burp smelling bad?

Please reply in detail so that I can answer you better.
Please also mention if any other associated problems are present.

Waiting for your reply.


Dr Y V Siva Sankara Murty
Associate Professor
Pediatrics.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (15 hours later)
Not currently on any medications. Has been taking miralax.
Since he had acid reflux as a newborn we have always given him probiotics and Colic water. Since then we never had any issue. He hasn't had any invasive tests done. Our dr has been on vacation. His practice gave us another dr that told us it was just terrible 2's. We didn't believe that. He was also extremely good and independant about bed time and recently has screamed for over an hour and a half inconsolable going to bed and also waking screaming at odd times when before he had always slept through the night, after getting the reflux under control the first time.We went back and saw another dr in the practice and she had ordered an abdominal x-ray showing he had moderate constipation. We just got a urine result today that also shows a UTI. Which he will be on amoicilin for when I can go get it. He only just started rubbing his chest, and saying that it hurts.
The burp raw meat smell comes and goes for about the last 2 weeks.
I am using this as more of a second opinion since his normal dr has been on vacation and after the dr that said it was terrible 2's, we would have missed all this if we weren't persistant, knowing that there was something more going on with him.
Thank you for you opinions in this matter. I just want to make sure to get other opinions so that we don't miss anything that may be very important to his health.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty (7 hours later)
Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

Your child's symptoms are suggestive of reflux disease.
I request you to not to neglect this.

There are certain life style changes that can help him.

1. Do not let him sleep or lie down immediately after a feed. There should be some time gap between the two.
2. Sleeping on the left side could be of some help.
3. Elevation of head end of the bed by placing small blocks below the head end of the cot will help.
4. If some body in the house smokes that should be stopped.

Your doctor may ask for investigations including endoscopy, Ph monitoring of the esophagus etc. Along with the life style changes drugs that reduce the acid secretion (proton pump inhibitors and H2 blockers like ranitidine etc) will be prescribed by your doctor. Some prokinetic drugs may also be helpful.

Please continue to ask queries regarding your kid.
You may ask queries directly to me by using the following URL.

WWW.WWWW.WW
In such a scenario the questions will be directly forwarded to me and I can help your kid with my answers.

Hope this helps.
Take care.
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Y V Siva Sankara Murty

Pediatrician

Practicing since :1998

Answered : 1845 Questions

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Infant Has Acid Reflux Problem And Burping A Bad Smell. What Treatment Should Be Done?

Hi,

Thanks for writing to health care magic.

Is your child on any medication for the reflux?
Did he improve with those medications?
Was a endoscopy or other investigations performed at any time?
Does he have this pain in the center of the chest recurrently or only recently you noticed this?
From when is the burp smelling bad?

Please reply in detail so that I can answer you better.
Please also mention if any other associated problems are present.

Waiting for your reply.


Dr Y V Siva Sankara Murty
Associate Professor
Pediatrics.