Q: My 5 years old son has frequent cough/cold and ear infection (about once in 2 months). After getting a thorough checkup, we were told that he has a condition in which the stomach acids come back to his throat and cause irritation and then infection which goes to his ears. He was given medicines Ciza for 3 months and Omez for 6 months. But his bouts of cough and infection do not seem to have reduced. Only in the initial 3 months, he was slightly OK. The doctor said that in children below 3 years of age, this is prevalent but my son is 5 and I am worried it might lead to other complications. He is not gaining weight also due this. Could there be any other reason for his infections? What should we do?

A:Frequent coughs and colds are not unusual in children when they start going to school. If there is serious doubt about there being a problem with acid reflux then you would need to confirm it by ultrasound/X-ray. Once the issue of acid reflux has been satisfactorily resolved one would be able to decide on a clear course of treatment. If there are frequent ear infections see an ENT specialist. Ear infections are not usually associated with cough secondary to reflux.