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Acid reflux in children and teens (heartburn, regurgitation, GER and GERD): the signs, the tests, and the treatment
For a parent or caregiver of a child or teen with heartburn, food or a sour taste coming back up, chest or belly pain, or a cough or hoarse voice that won’t go away, or who was told it may be GERD. It passes on, by name, what the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, part of the NIH) says about children between 1 and 18: what GER and GERD are, who gets them, and the complications; the signs that mean calling a doctor right away; the tests; the treatment, from everyday changes to medicines and surgery; and food and weight. It builds the words to say to your child’s doctor, so you do not have to find them, and prints a card. (For a baby younger than 1, see Reflux in babies.)
Right now
- Blood or what looks like coffee grounds in the vomit, blood in the stool, green or yellow vomit, forceful or very large vomiting, trouble breathing or swallowing, refusing food again and again, or no tears when crying? Call a doctor right away (NIDDK). If you believe it is an emergency, call 911 (ours; NIDDK’s page does not name 911).
- Is it all too much, for your child or for you, or is someone thinking of ending their life? Call or text 988, any hour (ours).
More help
- On this site: A child’s health: find the right page · Belly and stomach · Reflux in babies · Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child.
- Related: Heartburn and acid reflux in adults · Barrett’s esophagus · Asthma · When you want to quit smoking.
- Getting ready: An upper GI endoscopy · An upper GI series · Symptom diary · Get ready for your appointment · My medicines · When you need a doctor and can’t pay · When you need food.
- In a crisis: Help right now (988, 911). All our free tools.
An upset stomach, and not sure this is the right page? The pages on this site for throwing up, diarrhea, heartburn and constipation, on one list.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 18, 2026 on NIDDK’s (NIH) page Acid Reflux (GER & GERD) in Children (last reviewed November 2020) and its Spanish page Reflujo gástrico (RGE y ERGE) en niños (last reviewed November 2020), which say the same. The numbers (children between 1 and 18; about 10 percent with GERD symptoms at least once a week; more common from age 10; PPIs typically for 4 to 8 weeks; no food for a few hours before lying down) are NIDDK’s. Ours: when to call 911 (NIDDK’s page does not name it); 988; the questions to ask; the links to our other pages; and the order of the steps. What we left out: the drawings, the section on clinical trials, the two research papers NIDDK cites, NIDDK’s outside links, and any medicine names, doses or lists of foods (NIDDK gives none). This page saves nothing and loads no trackers.