GERD And Antibiotics

Updated on April 08, 2008
A.L. asks from Oxford, OH
16 answers

Hi everyone! My 6-year old son has reflux (GERD) and he's now on antibiotics for strep. The last time he was on antibiotics, his GERD issues seemed to get worse. This makes some sense to me, but that doesn't make it true! So I have two questions: First, are antibiotics harder on people with GERD...so that they have to be careful to replace the "good" bacteria in their stomachs afterwards? Second, what are your favorite kid-friendly ways to do "probiotics"? I know about active yogurt, but I don't really know about anything else. If you mention a store, please also mention the city...I think this list goes to a pretty wide area.

Thanks for all your good advice on these questions and all the questions posed by others. You-all rock!

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T.S.

answers from Fort Wayne on

Hi A.,
My daughter also has GERD. She was diagnosed as a newborn. Anyway, I have never had a problem with her and antibiotics. Other than the fact that it is very hard for her to swallow pills. I have to crush them up. (oh, my daughter is 7 now.) But, she is also on Prevacid. Which I hated the idea of putting her on medicine. But everytime we went somewhere, it seemed that she would start gagging/throwing up. She hasn't gagged or thrown up since the medicine. I hope that this helps. Good luck.
T.

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C.B.

answers from Lafayette on

i'm not sure what area you're in, but in crawfordsville(my area), there is a store with a big sunflower on it and in it's name. if you're looking to replace or add more madnesium, tuna is a great way. my son has had trouble with gerd(acid reflux) since he was 1, now he's almost 6. we get him whatever flavor of yogart he likes, he eats tuna 3x's a week, his snacks are mostly fruits(low in acid) nuts, things like that. antibiotics like penicillin, augmentin, not only make gerd worse they upset the intestinal tract that's why you have diarhea when you take them. whenever my son has to take antibiotics i just have him eat more yogart & i also give him pediasure.

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M.N.

answers from Cincinnati on

Check with your pharmicist to see if you can space out the antibiotic and the GERD meds to help him out while on the antibiotic. I take a great probiotic, rather than GERD meds because I found out I am allergic to dairy which was causing much of the GRED problems. I take one which is latose free called Nature's Finest, available at Walgreens. It is a capsule, so it cannot be split - see if pharmacist knows of one for children.
Don't sweat the age - I will be 49 soon and I am planning an International family vacation to help celebrate my 50th next year.

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M.C.

answers from Cleveland on

My formerly refluxy son has had strep 4 times since October and I am a big fan of probiotics. I would be a bigger fan of finding the silent strep carrier in his midst, but that's for another request:) I recommend Culturelle or any other refrigerated probiotic. Culturelle is usually available at walgreens, wild oats, and rite aid, but check their website for stores that carry it near Oxford. A much cheaper alternative is buying a refrigerated probiotic from the health food store, this preserves the lactobacilus. You can then open the capsules and put them in your son's oatmeal, milk,etc. Good luck!

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B.H.

answers from Columbus on

Hi A..
I have a 3-year-old daughter with special needs and her OT recommended that I get her on probiotics. I finally found some in a powder form through a company called Market America. A friend introduced me to their children's vitamin supplement which also contains probiotics. You just mix it with water (or juice) so it's in an isotonic form which means the body doesn't have to work to digest it. I love that because I always wondered how much of the supplements we were actually getting from our vitamins. Now I know...all of it! It's called Isotonix Might-A-Mins and is $9.95 for a month supply.

They also carry a product called Isotonix Digestive Enzymes with Probiotics. That provides the enzymes and good bacteria you are looking for. It's about $30 for a 90 serving size.

They also have an incredible product called Ultimate Aloe. It's a natural aloe juice that has helped a lot with reflux.

Market America is an internet marketing company so you can only buy these online. I have been so impressed with these products, that I joined the company a few months ago. You can find them on my website www.marketamerica.com/rebeccahill. Just click on Isotonix or on Health and nutrition.

If you want to read more about the science behind any of the products, you can go to www.marketamericascience.com. Let me know if you have any questions.

B.
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T.B.

answers from Columbus on

My son was given large doses of antibiotics for his horrible ear infection (shot then oral for 10 days) the dr. told me to buy "Florastor Kids". I sprinkle it on his yogurt, pudding, in his cereal - and he doesn't notice at all. It has kept his gut "healthly" as possible during this period. I bought it at CVS.

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K.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

Regular Yogurt is great! When my son is on antibiotics I get him yogurt with each dose. He loves yoplay, but if you have a picky eater then giving the kids yogurt with different characters on it might work. :) It's a stretch but cottage cheese is another good one!

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C.A.

answers from San Antonio on

Primadopholis for kids- Whole Foods (University Heights), Nature's Bin (lakewood), Mustard Seed (Akron), Wild Oats (Chagrin Falls)

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C.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

You can go to any "health/natural" food stores and ask them about their kids stuff. They make probiotics for kids. The one I go to in Avon is family owned and the one owner knows alot and he says kids could even take the adult ones as long as it's a vegetable one. I would try a store like that rather than any walgreens or cvs type places.

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E.W.

answers from Cleveland on

YOu can buy culturelle at the drug store. It is a capsule you can open. I would mix it with my daughter's apple sauce or just swallow the pill. WHile taking antibiotics take 2 a day but do not take them at the time of the antibiotic. It just cancels the culturelle out. So if you give the anitbiotic at morning and night take a culterelle with lunch and at after school. I take this along with 2 of kids once a day everyday. Have you ever seen an osteopath doctor? Look at these websites for Osteomed II and Integrative Wellness. They are both in the CLeveland area.

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M.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

i am 29 and i have gerd, i don't have any issues with antibiotics. i take prilosec everyday though.

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L.M.

answers from Cleveland on

Because of the antibiotic use, I would highly recommend Culturelle, Vitacost.com has it for one of the best prices. They also sell chewable forms of probiotics that taste good, but are nowhere near as effective as the culturelle. If your son doesn't want to swallow the capsule you can open it and mix it in something like applesauce, or put it in a couple ounces of a drink he likes (nothing hot) I would definitly keep it on hand for use while on antiobiotics. You could probably get away with using a cheaper chewable as a daily choice.

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S.W.

answers from Toledo on

Hi A. I work in the nutrition field and I think you may know that when on antibiotics it kills all the bacteria, good as well as bad and that is probably your little ones worsen issues. First of all I have a person who the pedi wanted to put her 5 day old baby on adult mylanta and then perscription and then surgery for the reflux issue. We were able to deal with it nutritionally. It works and there are NO side effects of any kind. I would love to talk to you more....my email is ____@____.com
Good Luck
S.

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T.D.

answers from Indianapolis on

First, no one should use antibiotics. But if that is what you choose, get A & B biotropins from www.danielchapterone.com using affiliate code 122. It is a powder form of probiotics that you can put in milk, juice, and so on. It will replace the good bacteria.
You might also consider a good homeopath. You son could get SO MUCH good out of treatment.

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B.R.

answers from Columbus on

Here are some brands to check out. Their websites are just the brand name dot com:
Culturelle, Florastor, Jarrow (Jarrow-dophilus, Fem-dophilus), Theralac

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A.W.

answers from Columbus on

I give my 3 kids a chewable probiotic called UDO's Choice. I like this one b/c it has the bacteria in it to help avoid strep! You can get this at Whole Foods. Adults can take it too:) I also see a MD at OSU that practices Integrative Medicine. He told me to increase magnesium to help with reflux. Not sure if there is a magnesium supplement specifically aimed at children, but there might be....I would ask at Whole Foods.

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