Proton Pump Inhibitors & Infant Acid Reflux

Proton Pump inhibitors can play an integral part in treating you baby's infant acid reflux. It is one of many treatment options available to you.

This information will also assist you in making the best choice if you decide to purchase either of our infant acid reflux buffer product, TummyCare Max®.

The clinical description of a PPI drug is a chemical compound (the technical name for medicine) that irreversibly inactivates the pumps that produce stomach acid while the medication is in its effective stage (the effective stage refers to the duration when the medicine starts and stops working).

To accurately describe a proton pump we need to describe the parietal cells that are located in the stomach. The function of the parietal cells are to secrete acid into the stomach to assist in breaking down what has been ingested (eaten). Proton pumps are part of this cell's membrane and that is the portion of the cell that pumps out the acid that the parietal cell secretes into the stomach.

PPI's work within the parietal cell's surface where acid is secreting. PPI's reach the location of the parietal cell secretion point through the blood stream. The PPIs react to the cell in a way that inactivates, both the pumps from secreting acid and in turn inactivates the parietal cells from producing acid.

The question is how do PPIs relate to infant acid reflux and are they safe to use and an infant acid reflux treatment? The answer is yes. PPI's are the safest, most effective medications available for treating acid reflux in both infants and children and the following have been approved by the FDA for pediatric use:

• Esomeprazole, found in Nexium®
• Omeprazole, found in Zegerid®, Prilosec® and generic forms
• Lansoprazole, found in Prevacid®
• Pantoprazole, found in Protonix®
  

For more in-depth information read the PPI Dosing Information Page This is very helpful in understanding the Marci-kids dosing recommendations used by the University of Missouri and Dr. Jeffrey Phillips in effectively treating infant acid reflux.

Note: The doses recommended in the PPI information page and on the PPI dosing chart are not recommended by any proton pump inhibitor manufacturer or distribution company. These recommendations are representative of typical dosing used at Marci-kids website and have been proven to be effective in most cases.

We would like to point out that it is important that you review and discuss all infant acid reflux treatment intentions with your doctor before making your decision. We encourage you to refer anybody in your care provider team to refer to this website, this page and for your convenience we have printable version in PDF form for you to bring to your next doctors appointment.

Although there has been much success with the acid reflux treatment information posted here, we realize there are many other infant reflux treatment options out there and it is important that you acquire as much information about your options before you make a decision whether our infant acid reflux buffer products are a good fit for you.

Over The Counter and Prescription Proton Pump Inhibitors

There are a number of proton pump inhibitor products on the market today. They are broken down into two categories.

Over the counter (OTC) Proton Pump Inhibitors and Prescription (Rx)Proton Pump Inhibitors.

Some PPI's come in both OTC and Rx forms, some are strictly OTC and some are strictly Rx. No matter what form or PPI product you are using, whether it's OTC or RX, immediate release or delayed release, TummyCare Max® can be used with virtually any PPI on the market.

The Two Types Proton Pump Inhibitors

There are two different types of oral PPI medications.

• Delayed release PPI: In this form, the PPI is contained in an enteric-coated beads, granules or tablet. The enteric-coating is resistant to stomach acid and allows the medication to be ingested and make it through the acid of the stomach to the small intestine. The small intestine is where the PPI medications are absorbed into the blood stream. Then inactivating the production of acid from the parietal cells. So basically if the medication hits the stomach acid in an unprotected form, it would be destroyed by the stomach acid and essentially becomes useless as a treatment. That is the benefit of having the enteric coating, or some sort of protection via capsule, on the drug itself.

  The downside is, protecting the medication with a coating of some sort also delays the effect until it reaches the small intestine. That process, from the time your baby ingests the proton pump inhibitor, until it takes effect in the small intestine can take up to two hours.

I know what you're thinking.
NO WAY!
I can't wait up to two hours before my baby feels better.

That's where TummyCare Max® comes in. Along with the process called compounding. You have the PPI mixed with our products to create an immediate release PPI. So your baby will have instant relief no matter what PPI you use.

• Immediate Release PPI: This form of PPI is suspended in an alkaline buffer that neutralizes the stomach acid and it replaces the need of having the enteric coating on the PPI. Zegerid® is currently the only immediate release PPI product that is available in OTC that is FDA approved. Zegerid® is a blend of Omeprazole and Sodium Bicarbonate, which neutralizes the stomach acid. This neutralization provides enough time to allow the omeprazole to pass through the stomach and get absorbed into the blood stream almost immediately. Zegerid® will begin to take effect in as little as five minutes and peaking in approximately thirty minutes and can also be used with TummyCare Max®.

TummyCare Max® provides treatment for your baby's acid reflux without timing around meals or having to wait up to two hours for your child to get relief from painful acid reflux.

This is a great time to pop over to that Acid & pH page and read about how acid and pH levels work, with interactive images that actually show you the process of digestion in a baby.

A proton pump inhibitor can be highly effective in controlling acid production. Additionally they have proven to be very safe and all of the PPIs on the market have very few, if any, side effects. Be sure to read about the contraindications (WHAT NOT TO DO OR USE WHEN USING A PROTON PUMP INHIBITOR) of using PPI's.

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PPI Contraindications:
What to avoid giving or doing when administering PPI Drugs in infants with acid reflux.

PPI DOSING INFORMATION:
To assist you in understanding the Proton Pump Dosing regimen as suggested with our products.

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