It’s a looming epidemic being called “GERD-mania,” and it’s out of control.
Now I’m not talking about adults who have been convinced they should take those acid-reducing drugs every day, either.
I’m referring to toddlers and babies – some just a few weeks old — who are being given these risky meds “off label.”
Several years ago Dr. Eric Hassall, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Sutter Pacific Medical Foundation in San Francisco, published a paper warning against giving proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) to babies. He said it can increase their risk of pneumonia and stomach problems.
Other experts also chimed in at the time, pointing out that these drugs can lead to infections, reduced immunity, and long-term problems digesting food.
But it seems that no one was listening – least of all the FDA.
Because just last year that agency actually approved one of these drugs for children.
And pediatricians everywhere keep on prescribing them for “fussy” babies — without considering the long-term side effects they can cause.
The advertising rebound effect
I was in a state of shock after reading the postings at a friend’s Facebook page.
She’s a first-time mom with a baby who cries and spits up – for hours on end. Of course, that’s nothing unusual. Babies have been doing that forever.
But what shocked me were the responses. There were dozens of replies from other moms saying they had the same problem. And most said it was being treated with the acid-reducing PPIs.
Only one person, a grandmother of three, asked the obvious question, “Why are all you moms giving drugs to babies who likely have colic? Didn’t your pediatricians tell you about colic?”
She’s right…
How did a benign, common infant condition like colic suddenly turn into something needing these risky, addictive meds?
Dr. Hassall blames those consumer drug ads that you see on television all the time. Add pediatricians who misdiagnose this condition, and you’ve got an epidemic of overmedicated babies.
Gastric acid, Dr. Hassall said, is the first line of defense against bacteria. So by medicating tiny babies and children with these drugs you’re creating a whole new risk factor for them to come down with serious infections.
But apparently the FDA believes that it knows more than these well-respected doctors around the country. Because just last year it gave the okay for a children’s PPI – one called Aciphex Sprinkle.
This drug is only approved for kids over a year old, and that’s bad enough. But it doesn’t stop doctors from prescribing this, and other PPI drugs off-label to infants. And that’s with no evidence whatsoever proving they are helping these babies.
Dr. Hassall says that the term “acid reflux” doesn’t even apply to babies, but is simply something that “trickled down” as a problem for infants. Moms and dads who saw the television ads for the adult meds started believing that their babies were suffering from reflux, too.
But what babies spit up, Dr. Hassall states, isn’t even acid, as their stomachs are “buffered” by regular feedings.
Unfortunately, we already know what these PPI drugs can do to adults.
The list of side effects includes bone fractures, extreme acid rebound, severe magnesium deficiencies, and a persistent, dangerous infection that can cause watery diarrhea 15 times a day.
And there’s no evidence to suggest they can’t cause the very same adverse reactions in babies and children who take them.
Even the new Sprinkle drug the FDA allowed on the market was only studied for a total of 24 weeks. And in that short time period the children in the test came down with upper respiratory tract infections, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Dr. Hassall said that spitting up in a healthy infant is absolutely normal. It even has a name, “physiological reflux” and will eventually go away on its own.
Of course, watching your baby cry for hours on end will make you want to try almost anything to ease his suffering. Especially if you’re a first-time mom.
But there are other remedies to try. Remedies that don’t involve dangerous drugs.
Dr. Hassall and other doctors suggest these tips:
- For breastfed infants, moms should try tweaking their own diets, eliminating caffeine, chocolate, and garlic to see if that helps.
- Also, hold the baby in a more upright position during feedings.
- To calm a crying infant try taking them on a car ride or do some rhythmic rocking.
- And for babies taking any kind of formula that contains cow’s milk protein, try eliminating that for a time to see if they have a sensitivity to it.
Of course, there are two very effective, old-fashioned “cures” for colic. They might be the hardest ones to tolerate but they work pretty well, according to Dr. Hassall: patience and time.
(And I’ll add one more: ear plugs.)
Sources:
“Proton pump inhibitors do not ease crying, fussing in infants” Diedtra Henderson, January 6, 2015, Medscape News, medscape.com
“Too many babies receive acid reflux meds, says pediatrician” Mikaela Conley, ABC News, abcnews.go.com
