Dr. Phil Hariram's Health Blog

If conservative treatment such as thickened feed, smaller and frequent feeds etc make no difference to acid reflux then trial of medical treatment for acid reflux may be necessary. If medication works then no further action is necessary. If, however, there is no improvement then diagnostic testing and assessment of severity is the next [...]

Moderate gastro-esophageal reflux in infants is managed effectively by conservative treatment. Healthy children with acid reflux without GERD should respond to thickened smaller and more frequent feeds.
Prone position in infants with GERD is an effective acid reflux treatment measure. The recommendation, however, is that a child should sleep in the supine (lying face upwards) [...]

After infancy, GERD presentation becomes more classical. The symptoms of esophagitis is mainly heartburn or other types of chest pain. Other complaints include pain on swallowing and difficulty in swallowing. Associated problems include stricture and iron deficiency anaemia.
Children with GERD also show respiratory signs. Persistent coughing and wheezing is due to aspiration. Aspiration pneumonia [...]

The majority of children seen by family doctors with reflux symptoms are symptom free within a year. An infant with GERD, however, will have esophagitis.
A child with esophagitis is usually restless, in pain and cries a lot. Feeding problems will dominate parents time and there is a likelihood of iron deficiency anaemia.
There is, however, [...]

Reflux in children is a very common phenomenon and usually resolves after six to twelve months. Most are controlled by conservative measures. These measures include smaller more frequent feeds, thickened feeds, placing the child in a position that reduces reflux.
True GERD is not common but warrants further investigations, diagnosis and management. To treat acid [...]

Children are advised not to smoke because it is bad for them but do you know that smoking in this age group can lead to esophagitis? This information takes a minor role or none at all in anti-smoking campaigns especially when smoking is a major killer globally and respiratory problems are so common. Most [...]

Esophagitis can develop as a result of other medical conditions. Here is a list of conditions where esophagitis is not uncommon.
Cerebral Palsy.
Raised Intracranial Pressure.
Celiac Disease.
Crohn’s Disease.
Glycogen Storage Disease.
Chronic Granulomatous Disease.
Scleroderma.
Vasculitis.
Dr. Phil Hariram,

Trauma can result in injury to the esophagus and subsequent esophagitis. This can be accidental or intentional.
Esophagitis can also follow treatment to or near the esophagus. Radiation for mediastinal disease can lead to esophageal inflammation and resultant stricture. These strictures develop between the first and tenth year after treatment.
A nasogastric tube can lead to [...]

Most infective esophagitis is found in children that are immunocompromised. These children  do not have resistance to infection or are on medication that reduce their immune response.
The commonest infections are herpes simplex, cytomegalovirus (CMV) and candida (thrush). Infection usually follows assault to the esophagus such as inflammation or trauma.
In herpes and candida the child [...]

Multiple food allergies can cause esophagitis. I was not aware of this until I stumbled on to a big heavy book on pediatric gastrointestinal disease. I then looked for published extracts before this post.
The most common allergen is cow’s milk protein. More specifically it is lactose intolerance. The condition is called Allergic eosinophilic esophagitis. [...]