Reflux esophagitis

What is reflux esophagitis?

Gastroesophageal reflux (GER) is a common cause of spitting up, burping and vomiting in children during the first year of life because the closing muscle between the swallowing tube called the esophagus and the stomach is loose and not yet fully developed.

When the stomach contracts or tightens up during normal digestion, the stomach contents travels back up into the esophagus instead of going forward into the intestine.

Symptoms of GER often begin a few weeks after birth. This condition usually gets better by six to 12 months of age, when the muscles of the esophagus are stronger, but it can continues in some children.

If the backflow of food and acid coming up from the stomach into esophagus irritates the lining of the esophagus, it causes a disease called gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or reflux esophagitis.

Sometimes, what's inside the stomach comes all the way out through the child's mouth. There is an especially higher risk of reflux in children born prematurely, or children with known developmental delay. GERD can reoccur later in life.

Treatment / What you should do

If you suspect that your child may have GERD, you should consult a doctor.

Sometimes reflux can be diagnosed with an x-ray or through a pH probe, which tests to see if there is more acid than normal in the esophagus.

During the pH probe test, a thin probe is placed with its tip at the bottom of the child's swallowing tube and connected to a device that reads how much acid there is in the esophagus.

Inflammation of the esophagus also can be diagnosed through gastroscopy, which is looking inside the GI tract directly with a special light; this is performed under general anesthesia.

In most children, reflux will get better on its own during the first year of life. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to take a few simple steps to try to keep the reflux down.

Let the child sit more upright when eating, give the child smaller and more frequent meals, help the child burp up all the air he swallows with meals, and avoid laying the child flat right after meals.

It may also help to thicken the baby's formula with rice cereal. However, check with your child's doctor before doing this. A child who is already eating some solid foods should be given more solid foods and less fluid.

If these steps do not improve the reflux, or if the child seems to be in pain when eating or spitting up, a medicine that will decrease the amount of acid in the stomach may need to be prescribed by the doctor.

In rare cases, it will be necessary to treat the reflux with surgery.