Anyone's Child Have a Barium Swallow?

My son just had it done yesterday. He is only two months old with GERD. It was a very easy test. My son is breastfed and actually enjoyed drinking the barium. We were able to make sure everything was okay and that it was just the reflux. He did stop breathing last night and we rushed him to the ER. I thought it might be the barium but the ER doc said the barium was already in his large intestine. So they thought he just had horrible reflux with apnea. I am glad we got it done and would recommend getting it so that you can correctly diagnose the conditions.

My daughter had this done too. When she was still under 1 year of age. I was not fun. She couldn't drink anything after a like 10pm they didn't do the test til 9am the next day. For a baby going without food that long was total tears and heard on my ears. I felt so bad for her. They did xrays. Then they gave her this chalky stuff to drink. She drank it down so fast, because she was starving. Then the rolled her around and did more xrays.

Hi D.,

My daughter, who is 5 months now, had one done two months ago. She was breastfed exclusively, but spit up very frequently, stopped gaining weight, and would stop mid feeding screaming in pain. We did the barium swallow and an ultrasound to determine if the problem was reflux or an anatomical abnormality. The barium swallow procedure was really very easy. She couldn't eat for 4 hours before (I would suggest scheduling the test for first thing in the morning, to hopefully avoid waiting due to the delays that build up over the day). They gave her a chalky solution to drink (you'll need to bring a bottle) and took a series of images, waited 15 minutes and took some delay images. She was reclined on the imaging table the whole time, and was not at all uncomfortable. I was present the entire test, you should be able to accompany your child if you wish to. My daughter's test was positive for reflux, she's now on Zantac and eating like a champ and gaining weight again.

I do want to mention that the next day after the barium swallow her tummy was quite unsettled, gurgling and growling all day. She was also more fussy than usual. The pediatrician did say the barium can cause that as it passes through the bowel, that was normal. It might also cause them some diarrhea and chalky colored stools.

I'm sure you might be concerned about the radiation dose to your child from this procedure. I'm a nuclear medicine technologist, and familiar with medical procedures involving radiation, and I felt that the benefits from an accurate diagnosis were well worth the risk. The techs performing the test should use shielding under your daughter to protect her ovaries.

One additional tip: no doubt your daughter will be hungry before the test. You can take a pacifier and dip it in sugar water for her to suck on. It is amazing how this will calm them down and it won't interfere with the restrictions of not eating before the test. It works wonders.

Good luck!
S.

Hi D.

Our son, now 7 months old, had one about 2 months ago after exhausting all causes for his lungs being congested for several days. He was not responding to asthma medications (his 3 year old brother is asthmatic and the symtoms looked the same -- even to the doctors). The baby was hospitalized. a barium swallow was recommended on day three after no other cause was identified. It turned up a negative (I can't remember what status they used) but our pediatrition and the pediatric pulmonologist agreed to try to treat him for severe acid reflux using zantac and "wa-la" (if I could spell that) it initally worked. They also had him tested for food allergies but everything was negative. He now sees a pediatric GI who added prevacid (another antiacid), and we're having much success.

Since I was hysterical, I didn't actually go in with him for the test. My husband didn't indicate that he was very uncomfortable during the procedure. I'll double check when he gets in this evening. If there's anything to share, I'll write again.

I'm sure you're concerned with the amount of radiation (at least I was) but seeing your child have difficulty breathing is much harder. At that point, i was willing to try anything.

To ensure i answer your questions, he's on zantac 2X day and prevacid 1X day. He also takes pulmicort which is a mediciine for the lungs used by most asthmatic children. For the past two months, we've seen significant improvement particularly since he started prevacid last month along with Enafamil AR (acid reflux) formula.

Feel free to reach out if you have more questions.

Best of luck. She'll be fine. -Robyn

My son had one done when he was just wee little....at Ruby Memorial....
He had Sleep Apnea, Projectile Vomiting, Reflux, etc.....

I really can't remember medications prescribed for him other than the liquid Caffeine that was precribed and the Theopholine (sp?).....that he took his first two years.....

My son was very little when the test was done....they strapped him a papoose to have the test done....had a hard time having it done since he was a breastfed baby and they had to give it to him through a bottle though....

Hugs for you and your son!!!!!

My son was a preemie. He was a couple of months old when he had it done. The only reason he had it done was to check for another blockage (was born with a blockage in the intestines). The Doctor was sure he had the reflux just by what I was telling him. If your baby is spitting up excessively she probably has it and there is no need for the test. Talk to your doctor about it. Maybe he can prescribe the medicine and see if it helps without the test. My son was on the medication and it did help to relieve the pain associated with reflux. He was on it until he was about 1 1/2. Then on and off from there until he was about 2 1/2. The poor child never got a full nights sleep until he was about 4. All related to the reflux problems.

Why do they want to this in a child so young? Have they treated with meds and diet? My son was four when he had it done. Mostly because he should have outgrown reflux by then. It is not uncomfortable for an older child. They basically jsut drink something and xray them. Dont know about infants , they will probably put it in the bottle mixed with something. The test is inclusive though. As you can still have reflux even if it is negative. NOt worth the money if you ask me