Even children can have acidity

30 September, 2012

It's not just adults who suffer from acidity. Curiously, children who report frequent cough and croup could be affected by acid reflux problems.

REFLUX ACIDITY can trigger croup or ‘Kali Khansi’ as it is commonly called. Croup's symptoms include loud cough, and the noise of the cough is quite similar to that of a barking seal. Parents need to be careful of both these conditions as croup can lead to difficult or rapid breathing, and in some cases wheezing. Croup develops due to a virus, but it can arise due to an acidic stomach.

In a child suffering from gastroesophageal reflux disease, the stomach acid leads to swelling and inflammation of the larynx. This inflammation, in turn, results in narrowing of the airway. There can be further complications as this narrowing can result in more swelling due to a viral or respiratory infection.

Thus, identification of gastroesophageal reflux disease in a child, as soon as pissible, is crucial in treating the child, and ensuring that recurring croup does not occur. So if a child has three or more bouts of croup in a short period, immediately take the child to a doctor. The same is true of adults - adults who continuously complain of ashtma, in them the basic cause of asthma could be acidity.