7-fold Increase in Acid Reflux Prescriptions for Babies

According to Pediatrician Dr. Erric Hassal, too many babies receive acid reflux medicines.

The temptation to treat sobbing infants with available medications may be overwhelming for parents, but in the process parents end up needlessly medicating their kids. Over the past decade it has been seen that the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPI), a group of drugs meant to reduce gastric acid production, grew exponentially for babies below 1-year of age. There has been sevenfold increase in PPI prescriptions.

Advertising and pharmaceutical company promotion, as well as misleading misdiagnoses can be blamed for this increase.

Reflux Esophagitis- Overview
Reflux esophagitis is a condition causing inflammation of the lining of the esophagus. This happens when there is a upward movement of the acid from the stomach due to weakness of the esophageal sphincter.

Drugs typically used to treat gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) are not approved by the FDA for infants under the age of 1-year. Gastric acid is an early line of defense against bacteria and premature use of these drugs increases the risk of pneumonia and gastroenteritis. In infants, dietary changes should be made before resorting to the use of acid reflux medications.

The study is published in the 'Journal of Pediatrics'.

Source-Medindia

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