Pain in the abdomen of a child in 5 years

If a five year old child has a stomach ache, then he is already able to specify the exact location that helpsidentify the authority in which there are problems. But at the same time he still does not understand the difference between spasmodic, acute, aching or dull pain, accordingly, it is not easy to understand what processes are taking place( inflammation, necrosis, spasm, stretching).

Therefore, if the abdomen is painful in a child at 5 years of age, then the doctor must examine it to exclude surgical pathologies. If there are short-term pains, provoked by functional disorders, then the parents are able to eliminate them on their own.

Causes of pain

Pain in a child can occur due to damage to the tissues of the organ, that is, if the pathological process causing the change in the tissues proceeds. The cell adapts to the actions of various factors and attains a stable state, which allows them to adapt to new conditions.

If the adaptive capacity of the cell is exhausted, then its damage occurs, which can still be reversible. If the adverse factor acts constantly or it is very strong, then the cell dies.

The following causes of cell damage are distinguished:

• hypoxia( occurs with a decrease in blood flow or the inability of the blood to transport oxygen);
• physical effects( trauma, overheating, cold);
• chemical agents and drugs( destructively affect the tissues of dust, asbestos, high doses of drugs, alcohol);
• infectious agents;
• immune response;
• genetic disorders;
• is an unbalanced diet( the cause of cell damage is often a lack in the diet of protein foods and vitamins).

If a person frequently takes laxative drugs, lazy bowel syndrome

may occur. Abdominal pain in a child at 5 years is most often the result of:

• wrong power supply .Overeating, eating fatty, spicy foods. The lack of trace elements and vitamins leads to a deterioration in the work of the gastrointestinal tract and other body systems. Due to an unbalanced diet and lack of a diet, dysbacteriosis, iron deficiency anemia, rickets, hypovitaminosis, obesity, diabetes, gastritis can develop;
• lack of hygiene skills .Often, children of primary school age are diagnosed with diseases that are considered diseases of dirty hands. This is hepatitis A, dysentery, influenza, salmonellosis, typhoid fever, parasite infestation;
• of medicines .Some drugs can irritate the mucosa of the gastrointestinal tract, which can lead to inflammatory processes. Reception of antibacterial agents of a wide spectrum of action destroys both bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, therefore the intestinal dysbacteriosis develops;
• emotional stress .Often in children of five years old, the abdomen hurts heavily in stressful situations, with the appearance of nausea, increased temperature and pressure. During the diagnosis, there are no pathologies that could provoke such symptoms. These pains are psychogenic, usually manifested in the form of colic in the abdomen or soreness in the area around the navel;
• of congenital or hereditary pathologies of the abdominal cavity .Diverticula, hernia, fermentopathy, celiac disease( gluten disease), stenosis of the intestinal tube, neurogenic ileus, bowel rotation anomalies are genetically determined and develop under certain conditions. Some diseases are found in the first days or weeks after birth, others may appear after years. For example, diverticulums of the intestine are found only with their inflammation, umbilical hernia causes discomfort, reaching a certain size.

What to look for if a child has a stomach ache

If a child has a stomach ache in 5 years, then parents need to track when exactly the symptom arises. Particular attention should be paid to whether there is a correlation with the intake of food, its quality and quantity, as well as with defecation, the time of day.

If, after taking certain foods, there are abdominal pains, nausea, stools, flatulence, then perhaps these are signs of fermentopathy. With this group of diseases, an enzyme is not synthesized that cleaves a specific compound, or it is labile, that is, it breaks down when exposed to provoking factors.

Not always the pathology manifests itself immediately after birth, for example, with constitutional lactase deficiency, lactase ceases to be synthesized from 3 to 5 years old( as studies show, about 50% of adult Europeans do not tolerate milk, although this was not observed in early childhood).

Food allergy manifests itself not only in infancy, it can develop in a child of five years. Therefore, if a child has a stomach ache every day for a week and while eating a chocolate every day for a year, an allergic reaction can not be ruled out.

and the disease does not always have skin manifestations( rash, redness, dry skin), often there are digestive disorders, such as abdominal pain, colic, nausea, vomiting, stools, flatulence, as well as respiratory symptoms( rhinitis, asthma) or swelling.

An immune response may be not only to a specific product, but to all red or orange vegetables, to the preservative

. If the child has abdominal pains appearing at night, this may be due to an anatomical structure disease that must protect against gastric emptyingor intestinal contents back into the esophagus. Because of reflux, the walls of the esophagus become inflamed, which provokes pain, heartburn, eructations, difficulty swallowing.

In preschool children GERD is sometimes accompanied by vomiting with blood veins. There is a pathology as a result of violations of the motility of the stomach and intestines, insufficiency of the esophageal sphincter. The provoking factor is obesity, diaphragmatic hernia, dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system.

Parents should not make a diagnosis on their own. Only the doctor after examination, palpation of a stomach and carrying out of laboratory inspection can tell, why often the baby has a stomach tummy.

How to help a child

If a child often complains of pain, then from his diet should be eliminated carbonated drinks, salty foods, raw cow's milk, chips. Food should not be too cold or hot, as it has an irritating effect on the upper sections of the gastrointestinal tract. It is recommended to follow not only what the child eats, but also for how much it eats, and also what break between meals.

Most often, the abdomen of the children does not suffer from diseases of the abdominal organs, but because of the immaturity of the digestive system. In a five-year-old child, enzymes are not as active as in an adult, gastric juice is less acidic, and the structure of the intestine and stomach is different.

Therefore, food is delayed in the intestine longer, which leads to stagnation of feces and their compaction, as well as to fermentation and putrefaction. In addition, children, even five-year-olds, pull dirty hands into their mouths, can nibble their nails, swallow something inedible or eat something very sweet.

Hence constipation, bloating, heaviness in the stomach, mucous injury, helminthic invasion, intestinal microflora disorders. If the child as a result of a decrease in the motor function of the intestine periodically develops swelling in the abdomen, then the removal of gases will help Disfatil or Espumizan.

Pain in the stomach may occur after overeating. In this case, enzymatic preparations( Festal, Mezim) that help to break down food help, but they should be given only on the recommendation of the treating gastroenterologist.

When a frequent liquid stool appears, the child can be given antidiarrhoeic drugs, for example, Lactovit, Smektu, Lineks. As with diarrhea a lot of fluid is lost, you need to make sure that the child drank a lot of water. You can give drugs that restore electrolyte balance( Regidron, Toast).

If diarrhea has begun, it is recommended to refrain from eating for 4-6 hours, and then adhere to a diet that will help to speed up the restoration of normal function of the gastrointestinal tract.

As an antidiarrhoeal remedy, traditional medicine suggests using a rice decoction, an anise and fennel decoction of

. If diarrhea and vomiting occur after eating poor-quality food, then Smecta, activated carbon, Enterosgel, Polysorb, will help to remove toxins and bacteria from the gastrointestinal tract. Before the disappearance of vomiting, one should not feed the baby, and antidiarrhoeic or antiemetic drugs should not be given, since the organism so removes toxins and prevents their penetration into the blood.

Symptoms of food poisoning are weakness, increased sweating, drowsiness, nausea, lack of appetite, fever. The child can be poisoned by unwashed vegetables or fruits, expired products, seeds of peaches or apricots, confectionery with cream, etc.

It should be remembered that an adult may have a mild discomfort, and a five-year-old child due to unformed protectivefunction of the gastrointestinal tract can cause severe intoxication. To treat food poisoning at home is possible only with mild intoxication.

Pain and heaviness in the abdomen can occur with constipation. In this case, drugs that accelerate peristalsis and soften fecal masses will help. Babies aged 4-5 years are recommended to give laxatives in the form of candles, syrup, drops. A faster effect is given by candles.

Laxatives should not be taken if the symptom is caused by acute bowel disease. With frequent medication, lazy bowel syndrome can develop and the baby will stop emptying on its own, as degenerative changes in the intestine begin. Therefore, laxatives are an emergency measure that will allow the baby to empty the intestine.

You can give Dufalac, sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, Norma syrup, Forlax, Glycerol. Constipation may have organic causes and functional. The first include polyps, tumors, adhesions, which lead to disruption of intestinal permeability and accumulation of stool and gases.

The second arise as a result of malnutrition( lack of plant fiber and the predominance of proteins and fats in the diet), drinking disorders, sedentary lifestyle or against other diseases.

At the age of five, bowel evacuation should occur at least twice in 5 days

If a child often has constipation, which is not associated with the use of fixing products, you need to undergo a test and pick up adequate treatment. To restore the normal intestinal microflora will help probiotics and prebiotics. Such drugs as Forte, Hilak, Linex, Enterol have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties, so they can be prescribed for poisoning, diarrhea, intestinal infection.

When to call an ambulance

For some diseases, a child may need emergency medical care or even a surgical intervention. Emergency surgery should be performed with acute appendicitis, peritonitis, rupture of the liver or spleen, intestinal obstruction, infringement of the hernia, gastroduodenal bleeding.

Therefore, calling an ambulance is required if the following symptoms occur:

• acute pain does not last for two hours;
• the pain appeared sharply and immediately very intense;
• strained abdominal muscles
• pain causes you to take a forced position of the body;
• changes the appearance of the child( pallor, pointed nose, circles under the eyes);
• the pain appeared after the baby's abdomen fell on anything;
• body temperature does not match the heart rate. Normally, one degree adds 8-10 beats per minute. A 3-5 year old child has a pulse of about 100 beats per minute;
• diarrhea is strong or with an admixture of blood, pus, mucus;
• toshnit, repeated vomiting( more than three times);
• bowel evacuation was not more than 3 days, while the stomach is asymmetric.

The kid needs to ensure peace, apply cold to the stomach, restrict food intake

Even if the child's pains occur periodically, it still needs to be shown to a specialist to exclude the development of organic pathology. Even in young children, chronic gastrointestinal tract diseases can develop.

To prevent them, you should not only carry out symptomatic treatment, but also complex therapy, which will get rid of abdominal pain. What you need to do to avoid soreness in the abdomen or around the navel can only tell the doctor after determining the cause of the disease.