Lifestyle Intervention for Infant's Gastroesophageal Reflux in Persian Medicine

Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) characterized by a backward movement of gastric contents from the lower esophageal sphincter (1). GERD is the exacerbated and pathologic form of Gastroesophageal Reflux (GER) accompanied by symptoms and complications of damage to the esophagus (2). Vomiting is the most common symptom of this disease, which occurs in 50% of children; it will peak in 4 months and decrease over a year (3). An infant's reflux often brings about regurgitation and symptoms of esophagitis (e.g. irritability, arching, choking, gagging and food refusal) and therefore causes delayed growth (4). Due to high prevalence of this disease and side effects of drugs in infants, it is necessary to find simple remedies for prevention and reduce the complications of GERD. Persian Medicine (PM) as a branch of complementary medicine has some recommendations to prevent infant's gastrointestinal disease. Although these recommendations are recorded hundred years ago, many of them has been approved in conventional medicine. In Persian literature, clinical symptoms such as (Joshā-e Hāmiz) regurgitation of sour material and (Horqat laz’) heartburn are similar to GERD (5). Iranian physicians have proposed the following recommendation.