Question: My pediatrician recommended that I put my one-year-old son on Nexium because of acid reflux. I am not comfortable with this. What do you think?

Dr. Brownstein's Answer:

You should feel uncomfortable about using an acid-blocking enzyme in a one-year-old. Acid-blocking medications have a host of serious side effects, including osteoporosis and increasing the frequency and severity of C. difficile infections.

My experience in treating children for acid reflux is that the first step is to search for the underlying cause. Many times this is a food allergy, particularly a dairy allergy. My first suggestion would be to have you son evaluated for food allergies or to take him off dairy for six weeks.

I am continually amazed at how many times reflux symptoms improve and even resolve by identifying and then eliminating or treating food allergies. You can treat allergies using NAET by reading my report "Discover the Amazing Power of Acupressure to Conquer Allergies."