The present invention provides a method of operating an infrared drip sensor in an enteral pump system to reduce false alarm conditions. The method consists of the following steps: optically coupling a infrared beam emitter with an infrared beam detector along an infrared beam path that extends through a drip chamber and intersects the drip path; monitoring the output signal of the infrared beam detector to detect pulses; monitoring the pulses for an interruption thereof; and running an infrared beam power update routine when an interruption is detected in the pulses, the infrared beam power update routine consisting of incrementally increasing a power level of the infrared beam until the power level of the infrared beam is sufficient to re-establish an output signal at the infrared beam detector.