I am a mum of two reflux children. My daughter is nearly three and was medicated on losec plus neocate until 1 1/2 plus had terrible ear infections until her grommets at two years. Now my 14month old also a reflux plus currently on 20mg losec plus neocate just had grommets at 12months but they have been unsuccessful and has to go back on the list. Both are intolerant to gluten and dairy. Just wanted to see if anyone else had found a link between reflux and ear infections. I know its pretty hard to sometimes determine what is actually upsetting your child when they are reflux. Also could anyone tell me if they know what causes refux in babies? Is there any link between what you do in pregnancy and reflux?

Both of my kids have been refluxers (apart from occassional flare ups, they are med free now, at 4.5 and 2.5 years), and they have both needed grommets. I did wonder about a link but no idea if there is, or if it's just bad luck.

Can't help with any of your other questions, but I suspect genetics may play a part in reflux.

All my 3 suffered reflux to some degree all 3 have had some bad ear infections, miss 4 was booked to have grommets
but we moved to OZ and shes been ok touch wood.For us i feel genetics have played a huge part my sister and dad have reflux my sister really bad,im lucky and have missed out.

I don't think there is any 'concrete' evidence but yes my DD3 had reflux and up until around 1yr had recurrent ear infections (first one at only 6weeks old). Touchwood we have avoided grommets, she had failed tympanograms but had one more chance and they cleared (just at the end beginning of spring) and has had no infections since My MW said at the time of her first one, when we were also referred to Paed for reflux, that it is very uncommon for newborns to get ear infections and it 'can' be an indication of reflux. Big big hugs, reflux and ear infections are the pits I successfully weaned her off Omeprazole at 13mths.

Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and helpful advice. Really interesting about the role genetics plays. Also I have heard from a few other reflux mums that one particular pediatrician believes that stress during pregnancy can cause reflux in the baby. Has anyone else heard this? Thanks once again. Your help has been appreciated.

I haven't heard about anything during pregnancy affecting reflux but I do believe genetics play a part. All of my babies have had reflux to some degree, and yes most of them ear problems to go with it, when I got to my 4th refluxer and was referred to the paediatrician I was at the end and I said to him what am I doing wrong to end up with all this??!!! He then helped me research my family medical history and we found so many cases of reflux, or before reflux was recognised, unexplained poor health and unsettledness in babies. I was the worst of all!!! lol, and have lived with it my whole life. He was certain that family history had something to do with it.

Thankfully all but the last 1 grew out of it by around 2 yrs of age but we are still really struggling with the youngest!!!!!!!!!! Sometimes I do still wonder about my 10 yr old too, she still gets constant ear problems, is always got a cold or stuffy nose, snores constantly and is often complaining of a sore tummy and is often tired, grumpy and short tempered but the doctors just put her down as a badly behaved child and won't listen.

Sorry for such a long post but hope there is some info in there that might be of help.

I agree about genetics and it puts me off having another baby! We would love number 4 but it is too much stress. I have 3 boys and the eldest never had reflux. I was 23. I wondered if it maybe has something to do with being older mums? I was 28 and 30 when I had the other 2 boys. Not overly old but when you think that the human race is designed to have children in their late teens early 20s then maybe I am?
I thought that the use of heartburn remedies might be a link as I hadn't used them with no.1 but did with no. 2 but I didn't with no.3 and he has it the worst so that theory out the window!
I would have thought their would be a link between the ear and reflux as if they are refluxing while lying down then it is the same as giving your child a bottle to drink on their back.

I do remember looking closely at the genetic linkage with reflux after Thomas developed it as well which made it three out of three for us.
They do seem to have isolated some genetic issue with severe reflux but that research is still in very early stages as far as I know and would only indicate a likelihood of developing it more severely rather than leading to any kind of 'cure' I'd think.

Def our paed has commented a few times that it must be genetic with us - and the boys have a grand parent on either side who have developed reflux as adults as well.

But my boys were also prem and it's so common in the prem population that it's almost 'normal' - not that that means it doesn't deserve treatment!

William, my eldest, was born when I was 25 and his reflux was so severe he'd have apnoea episodes with it. It as a fantastic pregnancy until pre-eclampsia happened about 2 weeks before he arrived nearly 2 months early.
So - young and no stress.

Nicholas was born when I was 27 so still young overall but his pregnancy was very very stressful and he was month early - and his reflux was still very severe but responded the best to medication out of all of them, apnoeas were more fleeting (outgrew them around 4 months as opposed to W who was still doing it aged 3 years!).

Thomas I was 31 so getting older but while I was sick much of the pregnancy it wasn't anywhere near as stressful as N's pregnancy as I had much better medical care.
Thomas also arrived a month early - and refluxed the earliest - like a couple of days old! William had done well until he hit his due date and Nicholas had been fine until 2 weeks old or 2 weeks before due date.

Thomas' reflux has to have been the worst of all - never got off meds until surgery aged nearly 4, feeding probs so bad they had to place a feeding tube in his stomach as well as do the nissen. Reflux didn't improve even after identifying food allergies and never really managed even with heavy duty meds pretty much at max.

So my three blow pretty much each theory out of the water other than genetics and prematurity!

As for ear infections - yes that can be related to reflux. My boys never had probs with that, thank goodness but Thomas had lots of chest infections - those improved when we sorted allergies actually.

To be absolutely honest - I didn't know what I was dealing with with william and his reflux, thankfully because he was early we still had a homecare nurse who knew what we were dealing with and got in to a paed early on. I was adament that N was not going to reflux after the h*ll W put us through and so it was really hard when he started refluxing as well.
So we just sort of 'expected' Thomas to be a refluxer. It didn't make it any less h*llish to live through but we did find that, since we'd already managed to survive two we were sure we could cope with 3 if you know what I mean.

I agree about prem babies as well,my 2 worst refluxers were 34 weekers and 35 weekers,but my 38weeker was nowhere as bad and outgrew it way faster,so we were a bit of both as well genetics and premmies.

I do wonder about the age thing someone else mentioned as well, my first I was 20 (extremely stressful pg though) she was fine and a breeze compared to the others we only had a mild reflux til they found she was dairy intolerant but she thrived on soy. They got steadily worse from there on and my last I was 34 and was struggling a bit with my health by then and do wonder if that had anything to do with it at all. Also apart from my last 2 which were girls my boys were worse.

First of all you are amazing to have had 3 or 4 refluxers. I really don't know how you have done it. Secondly I am so pleased that there are others out there who after seeing GP after GP and Pediatrician after Pediatrician you just feel like you are at the end of your tether. Your info has def helped. Taking a closer look at my family both my dad and my husbands dad plus my husband have episodes of reflux. What I just cant work out is that both of our mums swear that we were all perfect children. So I guess we just have to put the pieces together ourselves. Both my two children were on the slightly smaller side but not prem 5 and 6lb I just seem to have small babies and I also had my first at 28 and second at 30 yrs old.So I guess a bit later in comparison to my parents generation. I am starting to think of a third but I just don't know... Thanks for everyone's help.

Hi

The link between ear infections and reflux is meant to be because of the stomach contents refluxed and irritating the eustachian tube. Our ENT said there seemed to be a link but they weren't sure. Some studies have shown stomach acid etc in aspirates at the time of placing grommets.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/507407?src=mp

There is nothing that happens during pregnancy that we know of that can explain reflux, except for premature babies. Genetics plays a part, but not always. The theory of being older is interesting. I hadn't looked at it that way but often subsequent children have more severe reflux and that would hold true of mine, who I had at 21, 24 and 30. I would not have wanted any closer gaps though and definitely started early enough.