The Acid Battle

  • The acid battle is the reflux disease itself and a battle that your baby is losing.
  • It is the body fighting against any form of acid control treatment.
  • Most acid battles get resolved in 4 weeks.
  • The healing of long term effects of uncontrolled acid, such as damaged tissue, can take 10 days.

The acid battle is the treatment going to work to fight the acid production. It is a good thing because the treatment, such as the use of a proton pump inhibitor, is reducing the acid in your little one’s belly. This may take a few days (up to 30 days) but the battle can be won by the correct dosing of the PPI. Of course all treatments you give your baby should be done with the guidance of your medical team.

If you don't have an good team, you can connect with our amazing infant GERD specialty doctors.

Not all babies will go through the battle. Unfortunately there is no way of telling which babies will and which ones won't. It's a coin toss. But if you're using an effective dosing regimen you will see results quickly. If you're not you could be keeping your baby in a constant acid battle.

Here's why:
Acid reflux by its very nature involves spitting up. If your little one is spitting up right after the dose of the PPI, then it's most likely related to stomach acid and the buffer coming together in the stomach to make CO2 (this is what makes your baby burp). But babies will sometimes spit up if too much CO2 is made. It means that there's still a lot of acid in the stomach (suggesting that the reflux is NOT under control).

The amount of sodium bicarbonate that is in your compounded PPI can make the acid battle worse. Some pharmacy compounds contain WAY TOO MUCH SODIUM BICARBONATE! This can add to the symptoms of acid reflux and the acid battle. That's why it's important to connect with a compounding pharmacy that uses formulations we know are optimal for successful treatment.

You can connect with us for compounding pharmacies we trust.

Brandi almost gave up, thinking there was no real help out there, just like so many other moms. But look at her baby now. Sleeping like an angel. Read more so your baby can be GERD and pain free in 2-4 weeks or less.

The first few days, as the buffer counteracts the acid and when most burping occurs. When you have so much acid in the stomach and you buffer it, it naturally converts into CO2 and as a gas it wants to escape (which is actually good because that is the acid escaping from the stomach) but it's similar to the chemical reaction of a volcano made with vinegar and baking soda.  It can push the contents of the stomach up the esophagus (especially in infants when the contents are liquid).

In order to minimize this period the acid battle you can weaning up or titrating up on the dose. This can help!

Also, you should always hold the baby upright and burp them to help get any CO2 out (rather than lay them down ) because then the CO2 will push stomach contents up during a battle event and out, i.e. "vomit”

Another way to help ease the discomfort is to use CVS Cherry Supreme one hour before or after dose of the PPI treatment.

With each dose, there will be less acid. By three or four days the acid will be greatly reduced. Unfortunately, the treatment of acid reflux in infants is not a one size fits all treatment. 

How long with the acid battle last?

It depends on whether the PPI dose is sufficient to block enough acid. If it is, the average time to get through an acid battle is 2 to 4 weeks. In 2 weeks you should start seeing a reduction in symptoms. If you haven't seen any improvement connect with the doctor to determine what to do next.

Although it may be difficult to stick with your dosing regimen you need to give the full 4 weeks to see results. Also, It's very important to take time to burp your baby. That will help get any CO2 (acid) out of the stomach. Then, and only then, would you lay them down. After a few days of consistency the acid is blocked sufficiently by the PPI and the burping is greatly reduced.
So burp your babies well!