6 Month Old Feeling Discomfort And Starts Burping. Is This A Sign Of An Illness?

Posted on Wed, 23 Jan 2013

Question: My six month old does not sleep more than an hour at a time. She wakes up in discomfort and needs to burp and sometimes to burp and spit up. We have already elevated th crib and tries her sleeping in a baby rocker and it does not work. What can we do? Is this a sign of an illness?

Answered by Dr. Kaushik K Murthy (15 hours later)

Hi,

Thanks for writing to us.

Based on your description, I feel that your child might be having gastro esophageal reflex disease (GERD) i.e. reflux of gastric contents back to esophagus. It has many grades based on the severity.

Few things I want you to follow to ease the child are as follows:

1. If you have started the child on weaning food, kindly make it pastier instead of very liquid consistency; if the weaning has not been started, it is the right time to start. Continue to feed breast milk.

2. Avoid formula feeds and bottle feeds.

3. Do not make the child lie down immediately after the feeds, XXXXXXX him gently on his/her back for few minutes while carrying her on your shoulders.

4. Feed her small quantities of food more frequently; say every 4 to 5 hrs, to avoid overload and gastric distension.

5. She may require oral lanzaprazole and domperidone for certain duration if symptoms are persistent. Your pediatrician can prescribe these in the right dosage and frequency (based on her weight and severity). Therefore do not hesitate to contact the treating doctor.

Hope I have cleared your doubts. I will be available for further guidance if needed.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad