Dysbacteriosis of the intestine in children: symptoms, treatment
intestinal dysbiosis in children is diagnosed more oftenThan in adults. And this despite the fact that children lead a healthy lifestyle, many are in the open air and move, do not abuse medicines and eat relatively well. They still can not avoid factors that adversely affect the intestinal microflora. This ecology, infection, rapid growth and development, the need for antibiotic treatment and much more.
Symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in children are revealed in every second child. Modern methods of diagnosis and a wide range of effective drugs can successfully cure the disease. The main thing is not to start the disease and go to the doctor at the first symptoms of its manifestation.
What is dysbacteriosis?
Dysbacteriosis is a change in the normal intestinal microflora. These pathological changes are qualitative, that is, in the microflora among "good" bacteria there are "bad" or nonspecific for the organism, and quantitative - in this case the number of gram-positive bacteria can be exceeded by conditionally pathogenic bacteria.
Dysbacteriosis of the intestine in a child is an actual problem in pediatrics. Currently, this condition is detected in 50% of healthy children. Among toddlers suffering from infectious and somatic pathologies( gastritis, intestinal infection, allergic reactions, etc.), the symptoms of intestinal dysbacteriosis are found in 100% of cases.
How is the formation of microflora in infants?
The newborn is born with a sterile intestinal microflora. This means that there is not a single bacterium on the mucosa of the digestive tract. Depending on how the process of colonization of the intestine by microorganisms takes place, the future health of the child depends.
The infant receives the primary microflora already in the process of birth. That is why a woman before birth should be examined for pathogenic microflora. Dysbacteriosis of the vagina and sexual infections are dangerous for the newborn with its pathogenic effect. On a healthy microflora of the child in this case it is difficult to count.
A new portion of microorganisms is given to the newborn by skin contact with the mother. Immediately after the birth of the baby spread on the mother's stomach. At this point, a part of the microflora from the mother's abdomen enters the gastrointestinal tract of the newborn.
The main way of forming the intestinal microflora is breastfeeding. Colostrum( the first drops of mother's milk, offered to the baby after delivery) contains concentrated milk fat, a complex of vitamins and minerals, nutrients, antibodies to viruses and infections and the right mixture of microflora. Doctors consider colostrum a real vaccine for a child who is able to protect him from unfavorable factors in the first days of life.
Causes of dysbiosis
The causes of intestinal dysbiosis in a child usually become unfavorable factors that depress the immune system:
- poor ecology;
- viruses and infections;
- reception of antibiotics and hormones;
- radiography;
- ionizing radiation;
- unbalanced power;
- poisoning.
Also, intestinal dysbiosis in infants and young children can be associated with the characteristics of the body, a congenital or acquired propensity for this condition. This is facilitated by artificial feeding, malnutrition of children of the first year of life and the presence of pathologies of pregnancy in the mother, including antibiotic therapy during gestation.
Symptoms of
In newborns and infants, the symptoms of the intestinal dysbacteriosis manifest themselves in the form of frequent regurgitation, vomiting, flatulence and rumbling in the abdomen. The child is slowly gaining weight, is characterized by increased excitability, poor sleep. The stool of the baby has a liquid consistency, white or green tinge, sour or putrid smell, sometimes with an admixture of mucus or undigested lumps of food. If you do not take any measures, the child develops hypotrophy, steatorrhea and hypovitaminosis.
Pathological processes of decay and fermentation against the background of symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in a child provoke an allergy in the body, in particular, atopic dermatitis and urticaria. In neglected cases, the child begins to lag behind in physical development, often to get sick and sleep badly at night.
Symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in children older than one year are characterized by constipation and diarrhea, intestinal colic, bad breath, eructations and heaviness in the stomach after eating. If you do not treat the condition, it is possible to develop avitaminosis, metabolic disorders, persistent decrease in immune defense, jam on the lips, furunculosis, poor condition of the hair and skin and much more.
Diagnosis
The diagnosis is made after the child is examined by a pediatrician and gastroenterologist, and additional instrumental and laboratory tests are carried out. During the examination, the doctor evaluates the skin and mucous membranes, while palpation of the abdomen reveals pain in the intestine.
Laboratory diagnosis is the bacteriological study of feces for dysbiosis. The criteria for this state are a decrease in the total number of lacto- and bifidobacteria, an increase or decrease in the amount of normal E. coli, the detection of nonspecific strains and Gram-negative bacteria, the growth of fungi, cocci and clostridia.
To clarify the cause of dysbiosis, ultrasound of the abdominal cavity, gastroscopy, coprogram, research on giardiasis and eggs of helminths can be additionally prescribed. With the help of the coprogram it is possible to determine the degree of disruption in the digestion and assimilation of food.
Features and principles for treating infants
How to treat intestinal dysbiosis in an infant?
Treatment should be comprehensive and lengthy, the following preparations are usually prescribed:
- Probiotics - Bifidumbacterin, Lactobacterin, Bifiform. These are preparations created on the basis of dried useful intestinal bacteria. Getting into the human body, they activate the growth of normal intestinal microflora, improve digestion, inhibit the multiplication of pathogenic microorganisms. Thanks to this, the processes of inflammation are eliminated and the motor skills of the digestive tract are normalized. Treatment with probiotics is prescribed for the course at 10-21 days at the doctor's discretion.
- Prebiotics - Eubicor, Lactulose, Hilak Forte. These drugs are aimed at maintaining normal intestinal microflora. They have a regenerating and anti-inflammatory effect, they struggle with constipation.
- Bacteriophages - Polyvalent, Staphylococcal and Klebsielny bacteriophage. These drugs have a purposeful ability to absorb pathogenic microflora. As a rule, bacteriophages are prescribed only in severe cases of dysbacteriosis.
- Antibiotics - Furamag, Ceftriaxone, Ofloxacin. Antibiotics are prescribed to treat advanced dysbacteriosis caused by pathogenic microorganisms( eg, E. coli).
Diet for a child and nursing mother
The nutrition of a child with intestinal dysbacteriosis should ideally be natural, that is, the baby should receive exclusively breast milk. Children who are breastfed, are less likely to face dysbiosis, intestinal infections and other diseases of the digestive system. Without supplementation and dopaivaniya breast milk in a short time normalizes the intestinal microflora in the child.
A lactating mother's diet for an intestinal dysbacteriosis in a child should consist of sour-milk products, proteins and cereals, fresh vegetables and fruits. The diet itself should be varied and balanced.
If intestinal dysbacteriosis in the baby is not natural, it is necessary to choose an artificial mixture that is as similar as the composition of breast milk. It can be NAN, Nutrilon, etc. It is forbidden to breast milk the whole milk. If one of the symptoms of intestinal dysbiosis in infants is a tendency to constipation, the doctor can recommend a special sour-milk mixture.
Prevention
Prevention of intestinal dysbiosis in a child should begin during its intrauterine development. The future mother needs to eat right, avoid any medications, especially antibiotics.
After childbirth, it is important to attach the baby to the breast as early as possible and to establish a natural feeding. Breast milk contains protective antibodies, bifido- and lactobacilli, which promote the development of normal intestinal microflora and strengthen the immunity of the child.
Dysbacteriosis of the intestine is common in childhood. Modern methods of research will help to put the correct diagnosis and choose an effective treatment for the baby. How to treat the intestinal dysbiosis in children, tells the pediatrician or children's gastroenterologist. It is important to begin treatment at the very beginning of the disease.
Author: Olga Rogozhkina, doctor,
specially for Moizhivot.ru
