7 Million Babies and Children and 6 Million Hispanics in the U.S. Have Acid Reflux

 WASHINGTON--

(NAPSW) The Pediatric Adolescent Gastroesophageal Reflux (PAGER) Association has
been helping families learn about acid reflux since 1992. The medical name for
the disease is gastroesophageal reflux. It means stomach + esophagus + backwash.


"Acid reflux in children is often overlooked," says Beth Pulsifer-Anderson,
Director of PAGER Association. Some clues include excessive crying, `colic`, a
burning sensation in the throat or chest, tummy aches, spitting up, a sensation
of food coming up, poor appetite, poor weight gain, trouble swallowing, night
waking, ear infections, sinus problems, asthma, wheezing, tooth decay and bad
breath. To see the full list of symptoms, visit www.reflux.org. "Untreated
reflux can cause excruciating pain and serious health problems," added
Pulsifer-Anderson. 

"A child with acid reflux is often miserable and this affects the whole family.
We have been contacted by pediatricians, nurses and even a police officer from
NYC who were completely overwhelmed by their babies with acid reflux," says
Pulsifer-Anderson. 

PAGER Association has been contacted by more and more Spanish speaking families
in recent years. According to studies, about 6 million Hispanics in the US have
acid reflux symptoms and most don`t seek treatment. Pulsifer-Anderson says, "It
is important for Spanish speaking parents to know about acid reflux so they can
be sure their children can get appropriate medical attention. Before we
translated our site, we looked for Spanish information about acid reflux on the
internet. We only found a few pages within English health sites. Most were not
optimized for Spanish search engines." 

An entire site has been created in Spanish at www. ReflujoEnNinos.org. The site
contains both detailed and easy-to ready information about acid reflux as well
as message boards where people can post questions. "Our trained parent
volunteers understand the extreme stress that these families endure. They have
practical ideas and stories to share that can help keep children healthy and
families sane," says Pulsifer-Anderson. 

Patients, clinics and doctors can download many different informational
brochures in English and Spanish at www.reflux.org or www.ReflujoEnNinos.org.
The sites are non-profit and supported by donations, grants and advertising.
Additional bi-lingual volunteers are being recruited. 



PAGER Association
Beth Pulsifer-Anderson, 301-213-9533
gergroup@aol.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009