There are several types of medications used in the treatment of acid reflux. Prescription medicines will be issued with tiny syringes for administering very small amounts of medicines – however we’ve found pharmacists tend to be a little ‘reserved’ when it comes to handing out spare syringes, so we have Oral Syringes available in two sizes 5ml or 1ml.

Some medicines are available on prescription (by a Paediatrician or Hospital Doctor only) and some ‘over the counter’. if using any over the counter remedies, please check first with your GP or HV.

Commonly used medicines as follows:

• Antacids – Neutralize stomach acid.
• Motility Medicines – also prokinetic medications. These increase the muscle tone of the digestive tract and keep the food moving better.
• Acid Suppressers – Suppress acid production in the stomach, including: cimetidine (Tagamet), famotidine (Pepcid), ranitidine (Zantac) and Nazitidine (Axid).
• Acid Blockers – Completely block acid production in the stomach. Omeprazole (Prilosec) and lanseprazole (Prevacid) are approved for use in children of certain ages. Rabeprazole (AcipHex) and pantoprazole (Protonix) are used for adults.

Frequently, some experimentation is needed to find the best drug since not all children react the same way, even to similar drugs. Always check with your Health Visitor or GP. Make sure you follow the instructions given for all drugs, prescribed of otherwise and give your baby time to adjust before making a decision about whether it works or not. If in doubt always refer to your Paediatrician or GP.

The list of medicines below is a combination of the generic drug names (scientific name for the active ingredient of the medicine) and the various brands (company names for the medicine) available in the UK.

Axid
Cimetidine
Domperidone
Esomeprazole injection
Esomeprazole tablets
Famotidine
Gastrobid
Histac
Lansoprazole
Losec
Losec IV
Losec MUPS
Maxolon
Metoclopramide hydrochloride
Motilium
Nexium & Nexium IV
Nizatidine
Omeprazole & Omeprazole magnesium
Omeprazole sodium
Pantoprazole
Pariet
Pepcid
Protium
Rabeprazole Sodium
Ranitic
Ranitidine hydrochloride
Ranitil
Tagamet
Vivadone
Zantac & Zoton

Calorie supplements
Some infants with reflux will not be able to gain weight due to frequent vomiting. Your child’s GP may recommend the following:

• adding rice cereal to baby formula
• providing your infant with more calories by adding a prescribed supplement to formula or breast milk to make the milk higher in calories than normal.