Medication Tips

Medication tip: Omeprazole comes in 3 main forms - a suspension, a capsule and a dispersible tablet. The suspension has a shelf life of up to two weeks and then loses effectiveness, it is also extremely expensive, has to be specially made up and not all pharmacists are knowledgeable about this and it can taste awful. The capsule can work for the older baby if you break open the capsule and tip the tiny balls of the med into a spoonful of fruit puree and feed to your child. The dispersible tablet [Losec Mups] is the best and most effective form and my book explains in detail how to administer it.
Drugs to promote quicker gut-emptying:
Recent studies of Dom peridone [Motillium] have failed to find any evidence that it helps in treating Reflux. This is something I have thought for a long time and have actually seen many babies react badly to it.
Using long-term, low-dose antibiotics such as Erythromycin have also proved in-effective. I also believe that it accentuates the acidity of the gut [which makes reflux worse] as anti-biotics strip not only the bad bacteria but also the good and change the gut flora. There is much documented evidence of a link between maternal and/or the infant taking anti-biotics and the onset of gut-allergic, acid reflux.
These last two points were raised and presented at the Reflux conference I attended last month. Hope it all helps, Alison xx