Silent reflux
Also called silent reflux baby, a touch of silent reflux
Silent reflux is reflux where a baby shows signs of milk coming back up but isn't actually sick and doesn't bring the milk up. Parents use it both for a diagnosis and for a guess, as in wondering whether a baby has a touch of silent reflux.
How it's said
My 6 week old (bottle fed) daughter is very unsettled and windy, and I wondered if she might have a touch of silent reflux.
I found a website with a list of symptoms of silent reflux.
My twins have silent reflux and are medicated (have been since they were in SCBU).
Who says it
Not to be confused with
- The NHS says a cow's milk allergy can look very like reflux, so the two often come up together. Silent reflux is milk coming back up without being sick, and CMPA is a reaction to the proteins in milk.
- Colic is when a baby cries a lot and there's no obvious cause. Reflux is one of the other reasons for crying that the NHS lists beside it.
Where it came from
US throat doctor Jamie Koufman says she named it. A colleague with throat trouble but no heartburn heard her explain reflux and decided he had the silent kind of reflux. Koufman also coined LPR, laryngopharyngeal reflux, for reflux that reaches the throat, where most patients have no heartburn.
For babies, the NHS uses silent reflux for babies who have signs of reflux but don't bring up milk or get sick.