Are Pediatricians Over-Treating Reflux in Babies?
According to statistics recently released1 by Medco, a leading pharmacy benefit manager, prescriptions for reflux medications in children rose 137% over the past seven years. Yet according to a study recently published in the journal Pediatrics, many infants treated for reflux may have been medicated unnecessarily. But acid reflux in babies is a real problem. In fact, some studies 2 have suggested that over half of babies with inconsolable crying may be suffering with treatable conditions like acid reflux. So what’s going on and what’s a parent to think? This new data raises some questions • Is reflux in babies more common than it used to be? • Are we simply recognizing a problem that’s always been there? • Are pediatricians over-treating reflux in babies? More and more parents are asking about reflux and doctors are taking it more seriously. The Wall Street Journal captured the controversy on July 22, 2008 3 with “Baby Crying? Doctors Say It May Be Acid-Reflux Disease.” And the growin
