Linda Folden Palmer wrote:
>Anyway, a large portion of "colic" is gastric/intestinal milk-protein
>intolerance, in mom's milk or formula. Because Zantac and such are
>histamine-2 blockers, they also will reduce part of the intestinal
>allergic/intolerance reaction and the baby may improve somewhat because of
>this, not because it's blocking some reflux, real or imagined. Real reflux
>is also often caused by milk-proteins.

This is an interesting side-effect of these anti-reflux drugs. I 
agree that real reflux can often be caused by intolerance to food 
proteins.

>
>Keeping the pH reduced without good reason will certainly set baby up for
>more risk of intestinal infections.

Linda, I assume you mean keeping the pH *high* is potentially 
problematic. This also concerns me, for patients of any age. Just 
recently in Australia, I have heard advertisements for a new 
formulation of one brand of drug that lasts for 24 hours, so 
potentially someone can permanently raise their stomach pH with just 
one pill a day.

Many people don't realise that *the* most effective defence against 
food-borne illness is the acidity of our stomachs. This is a very 
effective bactericidal, 'broad-spectrum' (literally) defence. Without 
the normal effectiveness of this mechanism, we leave ourselves 
wide-open to infection by some very nasty pathogenic bugs that are 
common in the environment. It comes as no surprise to me that the 
heartburn drugs are linked to intestinal infections.

In the case of babies, their stomach pH is less acidic than an older 
person's, so the potentially detrimental effect of H2 blockers is 
possibly even worse. I am all for trying to find the cause of reflux 
in babies before drugging them. I suggest mothers investigate food 
intolerances and also consider an assessment from a chiropractor or 
osteopath, to check for misalignment in the neck region, especially 
if the baby was delivered by some method where he was *pulled* out 
rather than pushed. This includes caesarean, forceps and vacuum, but 
could also include hands pulling the baby in a normal vaginal 
delivery, especially if pressure is applied as the baby turns. 
Misalignment in the neck vertebrae can affect the vagus nerve, which 
in turn can affect the functioning of the end organs of the vagus, 
namely the digestive tract.

Joy
-- 
******************************************************************
Joy Anderson B.Sc. Dip.Ed. Grad.Dip.Med.Tech. IBCLC
Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor
Perth, Western Australia.   mailto:[log in to unmask]
******************************************************************

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