Using reflux medicines favors microbes that are not ideal вЂ“ such as Clostridia difficile (linked to seizures and autism like features in tests on rats) and fungal infections (Candida or other yeast species). They help us digest food, communicate with our immune systems, and help fight off invading infectious microbes that can make us sick. The microbes we carry in our intestines do a lot for us. Changing the acid level of a human digestive tract means you change whichВ microbes can grow there. Anxiety becomes prominent вЂ“ and this is not surprising, as we learn more about how gut bacteria are linked to mood and anxiety.Д«ut thatвЂ™s not all. Other nutrients become harder to absorb too, especially vitamin B12. Effects from using these for more than a few weeks? Examples from my own practice includeВ linear growth grinding to a halt (kids canвЂ™t grow taller), delayedВ bone age (kidsвЂ™ bones are not growing normally), and fractures of hip, wrists, or spine вЂ“ in kids. The ability to digest and absorb food is gradually weakened. Yuck! Imagine all this going on in a tiny infantвЂ™s gut, which is just getting started in learning to digest and absorb food.Д«asically, these medicines weaken stomach acidВ вЂ“ and thus, make the stomach less capable of digesting anything. seizures under certain predisposing conditions.cause Clostridia difficile infections, a hard to treat bacteria that causes diarrhea.cause bacterial infections of the small intestine.reduce the helpful bacteria in the gut (which makes digesting food even harder) while encouraging pathogenic bacteria.enhance fungal (yeast) infections in the gut or esophagus.impede absorption of vitamin B12, and reduce serum levels of B12.reduce uptake of iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium.Try these instead вЂ“В because reflux medicines have been found to have these negative side effects: Obviously, itвЂ™s all too easy for your pediatrician to hand you a prescription instead and say вЂњtry thisвЂќ.Д«efore you try that, you should know that there are many drug-free options that work well, and leave your childвЂ™s digestion in tact. Infants may need sedation and hospitalization to get through this procedure. A probe is stuck down the babyвЂ™s throat in вЂњdip-stickвЂќ fashion so that a reading on the stomachвЂ™s acidity can be taken. Even if actual reflux was the issue, the only way to know for sure is to put the baby through an invasive procedure with something called a pH probe. Reflux medicines are not FDA approved for use in infants (kids under a year old) but are routinely prescribed anyway. But this mayВ not be what is happening in a baby or toddlerвЂ™s digestion. These medicines were created and approved for use in adults who may actually haveВ too much acid gurgling up from the stomach into the esophagus. Reflux medicinesВ (вЂњproton pump inhibitorsвЂќ or PPIs) are the second most prescribed drug for infants and children, behind antibiotics. The whole point of these medicines is to weaken stomach acid вЂ“ presumably because too much acid is irritating theВ esophagus. After a few years on reflux medicines ,В itвЂ™s common for me to be looking at a stunted child who is barelyВ getting taller В who is epically picky, cranky, or anxious who is struggling to learn, behave, or develop normally and who is so stuck on Miralax even at ever increasing doses,В itВ doesnвЂ™t work so well anymore. After a few months, we have a fussyВ eater who is having tantrums about feeding, who is dependent on Miralax to have bowel movements, and growth pattern has slowed down. Feeding gets harder, not easier вЂ“ and the reflux medicine dose goes up. Then the baby becomes more picky, appetite more sluggish, stools more constipated and slow, belly more bloated. Most parents report to me that reflux medicine seems to help a little at first, especially for quelling colic and crying. From fractures to fecal impactions, itвЂ™s not pretty. This creates a domino effect of trouble! Just click through this FDA powerpoint presentation to the Pediatric Advisory Committee to see what I mean. The weaker your babyвЂ™s digestion becomes, the harder it is to absorb food and nutrients. Why? Because the longer reflux medicines are used, the weaker a childвЂ™s digestion becomes. This is oneВ of my least favorite findings in a little oneвЂ™s history. If your baby or toddler is using reflux medicine, maybe itвЂ™s time to quit.

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