On Mon, 9 Dec 2002 00:02:16 -0500 Automatic digest processor
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>
> Date: Sun, 8 Dec 2002 20:38:48 -0800
> From: Harvey Karp and Nina Montee <[log in to unmask]>
> Subject: reflux
>
>
> Just a reminder that virtually all young babies have GER (GE
> Reflux)...that is they spit up. Yet very, very few of them (about
> 2% of
> all babies)have GERD (GE Reflux Disease) or pathological reflux
> that
> causes symptoms of severe emesis, poor weight gain, or pain and
> crying.
> This is probably in large part due to genetic predisposition to
> reflux
> although in some babies it results from a food allergy.
>
> Harvey
>
I'm dreadfully behind on my digests, but I did want to mention that I
think many of us have been taking the position (I believe Dr. Sears
coined the phrase) that if the baby is happy and healthy and gaining
well, GER is a laundry problem. However, in researching dental caries, I
came across the following:
http://www.brightfutures.org/oralhealth/pdf/RiskA_67to73.pdf
Basically, Bright Futures (and I know nothing about their credibility,
but it makes sense to me) is listing reflux as a risk factor for dental
caries. (Incidently, they do list drinking from a bottle ad lib as a
risk factor, but make no mention of breastfeeding--even at night!)
So, if this "harmless" reflux (or GER as opposed to GERD) could be due a
food sensitivity (not necessarily what would even be defined as an
allergy by conventional medicine), certainly treating the nursing couple
to eliminate the reflux could have long-lasting implications. And I
believe that what some people on the list are saying is that some of
these "normal" problems that "many" babies have, such as GER and colic,
are actually manifestations of food sensitivities, that have up until
know been written off as typical occurances in infancy.
On a personal note, as the mother of a child with severe caries who will
undergo surgery under general anesthesia in 4 days to treat it, in
retrospect I would have happily gone on an elimination diet to
aggressively treat the reflux. My son spit up profusely, and because he
didn't eat any significant amount of solids until close to 15 months, his
spitting up went on for a long time--long enough for his molars to be
affected, if that was indeed part of our problem.
Worried and regretful,
***********************************************
To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail
To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest)
To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet
All commands go to [log in to unmask]
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
Gina Gerboth
|
