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Gastric Reflux and Acidic Water with 5.64 PH? Oh, & constant congestion

My child has suddenly been diagnosed with Gastric Reflux which she has never had before (she's 6). Her throat and stomach have been hurting for some time. She kept asking me if she had a fever - but thermometer said normal. She had at least 2 episodes of her heart suddenly racing (she was sitting on the couch one time when it happened); it was beating fast like a hummingbird. She has a lot of anxiety being away from me (again, not like her). She says her head hurts when she runs. Her energy is lower and she says that she feels she is "losing her smile" and she is known for always smiling. She said she feels like she could die (she's not been a drama queen before). She's been eating less at a time. Her BM has a yellowish greenish tint. She's been burping more and they are loud for a small child. Strangely over the last several months I have developed respiratory symptoms, mainly congestion going down throat and coming out nose. I've never had allergies before. My mouth and tongue also have felt strange, like dry and slightly burned all the time which explains why she told me the water tasted lemony but I couldn't really taste it as much. I happen to have an air quality specialist to my house to try to identify what could be causing my respiratory symptoms. She noticed our water filter (bought from a Big Box retailer - on the pricey side) and asked about it. She tried the water and said it was a little strange tasting. Could she take home and test? She notified me immediately that the PH level was in the 5 range!! Regular city water is around 7.9. I took the water to a professional laboratory certified by my state to test drinking water. They tested the PH level twice and got 5.64!  So this filter changed my neutral city water to something 100 times more acidic!  Of course we stopped drinking it once we found out (2 days ago).  I am very concerned that the acidic water caused our problems. My child drank this water almost 24/7 because I sent it with her everywhere in her water bottle and she doesn't drink much else except some milk with cereal at breakfast and at lunch. We've been using the filtered water for several months - I think we started using it in Jan/Feb around the time I started developing the runny nose (which diminished when I traveled away from home 2 separate times but returned when I came back).  Could the water be linked to our problems? I'd like to get feedback from the group. Also is there such a thing as a pediatric gastroenterologist that I could/should take her to? She was prescribed Ranitidine, 1 tsp twice a day by her pediatrician. How soon should she be showing improvement?
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620923 tn?1452915648

  What I found in researching this is  u need to keep the pitcher with the water filter in the fridge as mold can grow and cause issues with the GI track......and do clean the pitcher out when u change the filter and do follow suggested guidelines as to how often the brand u use needs to be changed.

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Avatar universal
You might want to try a different type of water filter.  Also, if your little one likes coleslaw, it can help with stomach problems.  Cabbage cooked with lemon juice and butter can also help.  The lemon juice will not make it acidic - it will stop the smell while cooking.  - My grand daughter (7) has ulcers and the coleslaw is so soothing.
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620923 tn?1452915648

  Hi and welcome to the GERD forum.

Well u pose an interesting query....I really can not begin to answer, and I would like to know as I also use a filter system for my water....hmmmm

If I can locate ne info on this I will post to this thread, in the meantime if u find out nething please let us know.

I pray ur little one begins to feel better soon and urself too.
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