Providing Relief from Infant Reflux

Infant reflux is a normal physiologic process usually occurring after feeds.¹ Reflux is defined as the passage of stomach contents into the esophagus with or without regurgitation or vomiting.¹ Commonly reported symptoms include regurgitation, back-arching, excessive crying, and irritability.² Infant reflux peaks at 4 months of age.¹  

Unlike that of adults, infant reflux is non-acidic.³ In infants, reflux symptoms most commonly occur after feeding, at which point the gastric content is at more neutral pH.⁴ It occurs because of the relaxation and immaturity or underdeveloped Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES), coupled with other factors such as frequent lying down position, liquid diet, shorter and narrow esophagus and delayed gastric emptying time contribute to infant reflux.^1,6,7 Symptoms of infant reflux affect both the infants’8 and the families’ quality of life.^9,10  

A stepped approach is recommended in managing infant reflux, with feeding modifications or feed thickeners as the initial non-pharmacologic step.^2,11 However, if symptoms persist, alginate is recommended as the next step.^2,11 Gaviscon Infant is the only regurgitation medicine specifically formulated for infant reflux. It is an alginate-based reflux suppressant, containing a mixture of sodium alginate and magnesium alginate.¹² It has a non-systemic mode of action and works after ingestion to form a gel that thickens and stabilizes stomach contents,¹² which makes reflux to the esophagus more difficult.¹⁶ For breastfed or bottle-fed infants with frequent regurgitation associated with marked distress that continues despite feeding assessment and advice, consider alginate therapy for a trial period of 1-2 weeks.

Studies have shown that Gaviscon Infant can reduce the number of reflux episodes by nearly 60%.13 There was a 57.5% decrease in reflux episode in 24 hours after treatment with Gaviscon infant. While in the placebo, there was an increase of 3.8% in reflux episodes after treatment.




Adapted from Buts JP et al. 1987

The result of a recent meta-analysis by Kwok showed that Gaviscon infant demonstrated statistically significant benefit for reducing infant’s troublesome reflux symptoms¹⁴. 




Adapted from Kwok TC et al. 2017


Among the safety profile of Gaviscon Infant is its non-systemic mode of action that does not affect the normal digestive functions or physiology of the infant.¹² Other important safety features of Gaviscon Infant are the following: Its active ingredient, Alginates, is derived from seaweed^12,15 and does not contain calcium carbonate, which can cause milk-alkali syndrome at high doses.¹²

For infants under 4.5kgs, Gaviscon Infant is given at 1 sachet per feed, while for infants over 4.5kgs, 2 sachets are given per feed. Gaviscon Infant should not be given more than 6 times/day. For breastfed infants, Gaviscon infant is prepared as follows:




Help prevent babies from experiencing the painful symptoms of reflux with Gaviscon Infant. Gaviscon Infant can reduce the number of reflux episodes by nearly 60%.13 It is clinically proven to relieve reflux symptoms.14 It is safe because of its non-systemic mode of action,12 and there is no need to change your feeding method.12 Provide the gentle relief for infant reflux with Gaviscon Infant.