Actually, the last folks to have lifestyle issues as a cause for Acid Reflux are babies.
Surprisingly, acid reflux in infants occurs quite often. Over half of babies experience acid reflux within the first three months of their life. Typically, symptoms that can be seen are spitting, vomiting, coughing, irritability, discomfort when they feed and the presence of blood in the feces. The infant is often cranky and cries at the slightest discomfort, as it is unable, unlike us, to articulate what is happening.
We often call this as Colic. Rings a bell?
While medications exist, that may be given to babies at ages greater than six weeks, doctors often discourage the use of these, for patients so small, with such limited experience of the world, and recommend some other solutions.
Special pillows against which their heads can be propped turn out to be an excellent method to stop acid reflux in babies. . You can get these pillows at stores selling baby items.
Dairy products tend to be one of the items that can cause acid reflux in babies. Different babies have differently developed digestions and one must try out various things, before zeroing in on a comfortable growing diet for a baby. Sometimes, the density of milk formula that works for one infant may not work for another. It is advisable then to consult the pediatrician who has been observing the baby since birth and knows its genetic history and birth circumstances.
All of us humans have a nerve called the Vagus nerve that runs close to the Esophageal Sphincter. This nerve often triggers “throwing up” and other traumatic events. Sometimes, chiropractic treatments are successful in a given baby’s situation, and bring relief.
Another great solution is drinking of liquid calcium. The creamy texture of the liquid calcium allows your child to heal at its own pace.
Sometimes, babies start spitting up food, and turns out, that it could be a way of indicating a developing acid reflux situation. One needs to be very observant and careful at this point, as prolonged spitting up, often leads to sleep apnea in babies, or what may be described as sudden breathing stoppage in babies. This aspect of acid reflux in babies can lead to fatal results, and it is then advisable to consult a pediatrician at the earliest sign of this disease in babies.
Some “lifestyle” things to follow in case of babies are elevating the head of the baby's crib, holding the baby upright for 30 minutes after a feeding and rubbing its back.. What also may work well is thickening the bottle feedings with cereal (do not do this without a doctor's supervision), changing feeding schedules, and trying solid food (with your doctor's approval).
At the end of the day, one tries to avoid medications like Zantac for such little children.