Dr. Phil Hariram's Health Blog

Image via Wikipedia There has been numerous questions asked about the safety of mobile phone and so far no one has given conclusive proof that it is dangerous. What I do know, is that if there are dangers, it should not be used by the young simply because the skull is thinner than in adults [...]

According to Deidre Murphy and Jennifer Walsh, two Obstetricians from Dublin, even small changes in Body Mass Index (BMI) between pregnancies can affect health. Mothers who put on or lose a lot of weight between pregnancies are putting themselves and their babies at risk. A two unit increase in BMI doubles the risk of having [...]

Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis should benefit from the new range of drugs called Tumour Necrotic Factor Inhibitors (Anti-TNF). Tests on three of these new drugs slowed progression and reduced symptoms by up to 50%. Research at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, has shown that these three drugs are most effective in combination with the [...]

Acid reflux is extremely common in infants and usually resolves in the first year. For these children, conservative treatment is all that is needed. Small frequent feeds, thickened feeds and positioning the infant to minimise reflux are measures used. However, true GERD in children, although uncommon, warrants investigations. Before considering investigations, it is important to [...]

Studies comparing thickened feeds with placebo produce confusing results. Here are a few. A study of 20 children aged between one and sixteen weeks compared children on feeds thickened by carob flour and children on Saint John’s bread. Carob flour is a bean gum preparation and Saint John’s bread is a feed without fibre or [...]

Studies show that position has an effect on the level of reflux in infants. Prone position significantly reduces reflux compared with supine (lying on your back) position. There is, however, a relationship between prone position and SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome) in infants. Do not put your child in the prone position unless advised to [...]

Gastro-esophageal reflux disease in infants develop following reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. A survey of children attending hospital for further investigations found in a group of 69 children with GERD with a mean age of 16 months, 72% had recurrent bouts of vomiting, 36% had abdominal pain, 29% had feeding difficulties, 28% had [...]

Gastro-esophageal reflux disease in infants develop following reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. A survey of children attending hospital for further investigations found in a group of 69 children with GERD with a mean age of 16 months, 72% had recurrent bouts of vomiting, 36% had abdominal pain, 29% had feeding difficulties, 28% had [...]

In children with reflux symptoms, conservative treatment is very often effective. Reflux in infants is very common and the problem usually settles down by the year one. There are, however, a few children where symptoms persists. If this is associated with failure to thrive, weight loss, restlessness, crying, poor feeding pattern, or anaemia, then intervention [...]

Two group of drugs are mainly used as acid reflux treatment in GERD in children. The acid reflux treatment is in the form of acid suppression. H2-receptor antagonists were the first group available. The first of these was cemetidine (Tagamet). Its use is now largely replaced by ranitidine (Zantac). Protein Pump Inhibitors have been shown [...]