Why does a child have a stomach ache: causes and types of sensations

Children are family members, for whom you always worry more than for yourself. That is why, when your child begins to complain of abdominal discomfort, serious concern and fear for his health awakens in us. In this article, we will tell you why a child has a stomach ache, how to get rid of the pain, and whether it is worth resorting to self-treatment.

Frequency of the problem

You need to understand that the "belly" is a rather extensive area. This word can denote the entire part of the body extending from:

• lower chest;
• to the groin area of ​​a person.

Unfortunately, the problem of painful sensations in the abdomen in children arises quite often, since their body is not yet a formed stable system, but is just beginning to develop. As a result, external influences, as well as internal factors that do not have a large impact on the adult, can seriously harm the child.

The reasons for the occurrence of pain in the abdominal region in children can vary, and be:

• insignificant, easily removable on their own;
• serious, requiring medical attention.

Parents must be careful about the child's complaints about painful sensations, since sometimes the cause of their occurrence is much more dangerous than you thought initially.

What can be the pain in the stomach

Pain in the abdomen in a child can be accompanied by completely different manifestations, however, most often it has the following characteristics:

• extensive distribution;
• point localization;
• colicky sensations;
• spastic manifestations.

The duration of painful sensations in the abdomen may also vary, which coincides with the same parameter for the disease that caused it:

• they can be chronic (long-term pain syndrome);
• and can be acute (momentary pain, often arising unexpectedly).

It is important to understand that if acute pain suddenly subsided, or completely disappeared, this does not mean that the same thing happened with the disease. Perhaps acute processes have turned into chronic ones, and continue to negatively affect your body, undermining your health.

By its duration, abdominal pain is subdivided into:

• sharp;
• chronic.

Fortunately, most abdominal pains go away quickly and have no serious cause. But it must be remembered that some diseases with similar pain are life-threatening.

It should also be understood that the age category of the child will also affect:

• diseases that bother him;
• type of painful manifestations;
• reaction to pain.

So, for example, newly born babies crying and anxiety most often signal colic in the tummy, the cause of which could be:

• nipple feeding and air swallowing;
• mother eating unsuitable food, and after breastfeeding, etc.

Unfortunately, however, babies react to internal stimuli in the same way due to their age. The only signal they have is cry. He cannot become even louder and more desperate even when the baby is experiencing more serious pain.

But painful sensations in the abdomen in a child whose age is, for example, 6 years old, will no longer be needed guess, because at this age the baby is already independent enough to tell that his worried. At the same time, he also has a resistance to painful sensations. Now he can tolerate them.

Video - The child has a stomach ache

Why does a child have a stomach ache: types of sensations and their causes

Consider the most common causes of tummy pain in children.

Colic

This problem is typical primarily for newborns and slightly older children. Moreover, colic in the abdomen is a classic picture of "problems" with health in the first periods of a child's life.

Moreover, this uncomfortable sensation may occur in a baby who eats:

• mixtures;
• breast milk;
• "Adult" food.

At its core, colic is flatulence - the accumulation of gas in the intestines resulting from a combination of various circumstances, for example:

• when a mother feeds or drinks a baby from a bottle, air can enter his digestive system, which will subsequently lead to flatulence;
• a breastfeeding mother may make the wrong diet and consume a product that will subsequently be reflected and on the baby's digestive system, provoking all the same gas formation, and with it bloating, colic and etc .;
• overfeeding with the so-called "front" milk of the mother, rich in a large amount of carbohydrates, while the "back" milk does not flow to the baby due to various reasons;
• a sharp transfer of the baby from one feeding mixture to another, which gave a negative reaction;
• transfer of the baby from breastfeeding to formula;
• incorrect position of the baby when feeding;
• other food-related reasons.

At the same time, colic can be justified not only by the frivolous external factors listed above, but also by diseases of various systems of the baby's body:

• so, imperfection of the nervous system can lead to the emergence of spastic phenomena of a nervous nature in the intestine;
• infectious diseases caused by a pathogen that has entered the body from the outside can also lead to colic, but this will not be limited to, and will lead to more dangerous consequences;
• Another common cause is an allergy to a formula for feeding that is incorrectly selected and not suitable for your child;
• disorders associated with the production of digestive enzymes, due to which food is not completely digested;
• predisposition to flatulence due to irritable bowel syndrome, etc.

Colic is a debilitating phenomenon that occurs with equal frequency at night and during the day, exhausting not only the children themselves, but also their parents. It is best to see a doctor to determine the specific cause of this discomfort.

Symptoms of colic that parents can track down are:

• the baby cries for a long time, on average from an hour to four hours;
• the child's face is red;
• legs are drawn to the body;
• the child's limbs are cool;
• palms are gathered in fists.

Pain while traveling

It often happens that a child complains of abdominal pain during trips somewhere, while this discomfort may well be accompanied by nausea, and even vomiting.

Despite the fact that many parents do not always guess the relationship between the poor health of their offspring, and movement in transport, it is. The child's condition in this case can be described by the familiar term "seasickness".

The fact is that motion sickness leads to the above consequences in almost 60% of cases among children. At the same time, a similar reaction occurs not only in maritime transport, but also:

• in the airplane;
• car;
• by train;
• bus, etc.

It's all about the intensity of the swaying that the child feels. The receptors of the vestibular apparatus react to them, and as a result they cause:

• dizziness;
• feeling unsteady;
• nausea;
• stomach ache;
• vomiting.

As a rule, the child's sensitivity to transport increases with age, however, many people suffer from it for the rest of their lives. The methods of dealing in this case with an ailment, and specifically abdominal pain, will be as follows:

• frequent stops during the trip so that the child can breathe;
• drinking water in small sips;
• sometimes peppermint gum helps with nausea, but it does not eliminate the pain in the abdomen.

Bacterial dysentery

Bacterial dysentery or shigellosis is a dangerous disease caused by a bacterium of the genus Shigella. For children, the desired pathology can become fatal, so you, as a parent, should carefully look at the following symptoms:

• abdominal pain in the offspring, about which he will either inform you himself, or will cry and scream, pointing to the abdomen, while the discomfort will either increase or decrease;
• simultaneously with abdominal pain, a dyspeptic disorder occurs, consisting in a pathological increase in the frequency of stools, which will not necessarily be liquid;
• blotches of blood or mucus are observed in the stool;
• stool may stop flowing altogether, however, blood will continue to be secreted from the intestines through the anus, and with it mucus.

The further the disease progresses, the more its characteristic symptoms become. So, add:

• nausea;
• vomit;
• loose stools, etc.

Infection with dysentery pathogens occurs as follows:

• the child comes into contact with an already ill person;
• the baby drinks water contaminated with bacteria;
• the offspring eats food in which, for one reason or another, Shigella develops.

Only a doctor can treat dysentery, since an individual approach is required in each case. However, the following treatment regimen is most commonly used:

• soldering with water, or a specialized solution (for example, rehydron);
• use of antibiotics;
• drinking sweet tea;
• therapeutic diet, served in a hospital, under numbers 4, 2;
• in severe cases of the disease, bed rest is recommended;
• with a mild form, it is necessary to do physiotherapy exercises.

We want to reassure mothers of young children: contrary to popular belief, babies recover from dysentery much easier than older children, in addition, they tolerate this pathology is also more stable, and get sick with it less often.

To avoid this disease, preventive measures must be followed, for example:

• wash your hands before eating;
• wash your hands after using the toilet;
• feed the child with food cooked at a relying temperature regime, or well-washed foods;
• when breastfeeding, clean the nipple and surrounding areas, etc.

Infectious diseases of viral etiology

When we talk about abdominal pain in children, it is necessary to remember about one of the most common causes of its occurrence - a viral infection. Rotavirus is the most common infection in children. It is she who causes terrible abdominal pains, accompanied by many other unpleasant symptoms.

Rotaviruses enter the child's body through the fecal-oral route. In other words, the release of the virus occurs with the feces of an infected person, which transfers them to the external environment, touching various objects:

• cell phones;
• of money;
• door handles;
• toothbrushes;
• table surfaces;
• even food.

This is due to insufficient adherence to basic hygiene rules. If you are sick and not used to washing your hands after using the toilet, there is a high likelihood of infection in the people living with you.

For a healthy adult, and even more so a child, to get sick with rotavirus infection, only two units of measurement of the virus are enough.

If one of the members of a large family is infected, it is almost impossible to prevent the disease of the rest of its members, despite the observance of all precautions.

At the same time, not only relatives and friends of the patient fall into the risk group, but also:

• visitors to public eating places (if the patient is an employee of such a place);
• buyers, if the sellers who sell absolutely any product are sick;
• students, whose teacher, while checking the notebooks, left viruses on each of them.

That is why infection can be completely unexpected for you. As for the incubation period required for the virus to inject the first symptoms of the disease, is only two days. As soon as this time comes to an end, the disease will become stronger, and it will manifest itself with a sharp pain in the abdomen, especially excruciating for young children.

The onset of an infectious disease implies the onset of symptoms characteristic of a cold:

• cough;
• temperature increase;
• snot, etc.

Rotavirus leads to serious intoxication of the body - a serious condition in which it is, as it were, poisoned. The disease is accompanied by extensive symptoms, which are shown in the following table.

Table 1. Rotavirus symptoms

Symptom	Description
Increased body temperature	Most often, the child does experience a serious increase in temperature, up to 39-40 ° C, which remains at the desired level for the first few days of the illness. Then the degrees gradually begin to decrease, however, the remaining clinical manifestations persist for some time. In especially severe cases, this condition can last for a week or more.
Frequent loose stools	Children under the age of two can empty their bowels with rotavirus up to 14 times in one day. At the same time, the "flow" of feces does not stop even at night, which causes additional stress to the body. The stool with this disease is very watery, it contains inclusions of mucus, in itself it is very similar to a foamy formation. This manifestation can last a week, or a period exceeding the named one twice. Please note that frequent loose stools pose a serious danger to your child, as it provokes dehydration and an imbalance in the water-salt balance of the body.
Vomit	Vomiting can lead to the same consequences as diarrhea, in addition, from a mental point of view, children, and adults alike, are much more difficult to endure than diarrhea. Usually, this manifestation persists for the first two to three days after the onset of the disease, but then it stops.
Stomach ache	Most often, abdominal pain with this infection is severe, but sometimes mild. When palpating the abdomen, it can intensify, giving the child additional discomfort.

The cause of symptoms, which are mistaken for signs of an intestinal disorder, may not be poisoning, but rotavirus. How to distinguish one from the other? We will talk about this in special article.

Abdominal tuberculosis

Abdominal tuberculosis is understood as a lesion:

• segments of the digestive system;
• lymph nodes;
• the peritoneum (the thin layer that covers the abdominal organs)
• spaces behind the peritoneum.

Very often this disease is detected at later stages of development, as it mimics other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The symptoms of this disease will be as follows:

• weight loss due to impaired digestive processes and absorption of nutrients;
• stomach ache;
• weakness;
• temperature caused by intoxication;
• lethargy;
• headache;
• Bad mood;
• night sweats;
• insomnia;
• loss of appetite (sometimes complete);
• pain in the area of ​​the heart muscle;
• pulse disorders;
• intestinal obstruction;
• drop in blood pressure in the arteries, etc.

With abdominal tuberculosis, the child begins to experience severe abdominal pain, as well as feel its increase, which is not always noticeable from the outside.

The disease is often transmitted after close contact with a sick person.

Constipation

Constipation itself is not a disease, however, it is he who most often causes abdominal pain, caused, as you can already understand, stagnation of feces in the intestines.

The reasons for the formation of constipation can be as follows:

• the prevalence of animal products saturated with fats in the daily menu, to the detriment of plant coarse fiber;
• a sedentary lifestyle, for example, if the child prefers a computer to active games;
• intestinal ulcer;
• cancerous processes in the gastrointestinal tract;
• mechanical damage to the intestines;
• adhesions;
• fecal stones;
• neurological diseases;
• disruption of the endocrine system;
• taking various medicines.

All of the above reasons are as relevant for children as they are for adults. If you have any of these, constipation attacks will occur frequently. Due to the fact that the hardened stool from the inside will damage the intestines, the child will feel pain. In addition, hardened feces provoke increased gas production, and inflammatory processes at the site of prolonged contact with the intestines, thereby increasing the pain syndrome.

The symptoms in this case will be as follows:

• the child will point to the stomach, or say that he has a pain in the navel;
• the pain in the abdomen will be severe, most likely, it will cause a serious tantrum in the baby;
• the child will not be able to go to the toilet;
• the stool that will come out of the intestines will be characterized by high density and hardness;
• a visit to the toilet can take place once a few days, or not at all;
• the baby's belly will be distended due to the formation of a large amount of gas in the intestines.

Intolerance to dairy products

Another common cause of pain in the abdomen is intolerance to dairy products. In other words, the child's body has a special relation to the products of this category, or rather to the lactose contained in them.

This condition occurs when a child's body does not produce the enzymes needed to process milk sugar (lactose). Or, it produces them in small quantities.

In addition, allergic reactions to milk proteins can also develop. This is typical for children with allergies, whose parents also show sensitive reactions to various foods, odors, etc.

Symptoms of intolerance and allergy to dairy products are as follows:

• abdominal pain;
• bloating;
• flatulence;
• colic in the intestines;
• spastic phenomena in the intestines;
• spreading pain throughout the abdomen.

Peptic ulcer and gastritis

Peptic ulcer and gastritis are diseases that are very similar to each other. Most often, it is they who cause abdominal pain in children and adults, contrary to popular belief that children do not suffer from this disease.

Gastritis is a deformation of the mucous walls of the stomach and their inflammation, while peptic ulcer disease is actually the same, only with its development, the walls of the intestine and stomach cover the wounds that bleed and gradually become deeper, up to before perforations organ.

Children who already know how to express themselves talk about pain in peptic ulcer disease or gastritis, as an unpleasant burning sensation, eating away at the flesh. In some cases, it is so strong that urgent pain relief is required.

Most often, with these diseases, pain is felt in:

• the left side of the abdomen;
• in the stomach;
• at the chest.

The desired diseases will be accompanied by:

• losing weight;
• pain associated with eating (with a peptic ulcer, it will hurt between meals, with gastritis during meals);
• vomiting;
• frequent nausea;
• constipation;
• diarrhea;
• losing weight;
• there is fear, etc.

Helminths

The settlement of helminths is another reason why stomachs can hurt in children of different ages. Malicious organisms get inside our body, as a rule, as follows:

• in case of non-observance of food hygiene;
• if personal hygiene is not observed.

Once inside the gastrointestinal tract, helminths can move to other organs, developing there, and emitting waste products that are harmful to us, which actually act like poison. As a result, not only the manifestation of unpleasant symptoms occurs, but also the destruction of the walls of the organs in which the worms live, which causes irreparable damage to our body.

In addition, helminths provoke:

• spastic phenomena in the intestines;
• diarrhea;
• gas formation;
• flatulence, etc.

These symptoms can only be dealt with by killing the worms. To do this, the attending physician (and only he, self-administration of medications is not effective) prescribes:

• enterosorbents;
• anthelmintic agents;
• antihistamines;
• diet;
• drinking plenty of fluids.

V one of our articles we will tell you which modern antihelminthic drugs are most effective for children, and what are the principles of their use.

Appendicitis

Appendicitis is an inflammatory process that has taken over the process of our intestines, which looks like a worm. It's called the appendix. In a healthy state, it looks like a small oblong tube of the following dimensions:

• with a diameter of 7 to 10 millimeters;
• length up to 150 millimeters.

The branch of this organ comes from the cecum, it is a dead end. In fact, to date, the actual function of the appendix has not been clarified. After its removal, people continue to lead a quality life that is no different from the previous one, at least outwardly.

With inflammation of this appendix, a person feels severe pain. The child cannot tolerate them for a long time, so urgent hospitalization is required. Simultaneously with abdominal pain:

• the temperature rises;
• sweating increases;
• vomiting opens;
• sometimes loose stools occur;
• pain from the center of the abdomen radiates downward;
• palpation is extremely painful.

Menstruation

The occurrence of this cause will be typical for adolescent girls. When faced with periods for the first time, which can be quite painful, they experience fear and terrible discomfort. The task of the mother or father (if there is no mother in the family), as well as another parent, is to explain to the child the physiological nature of this process, and to establish the moral side of the issue.

As for pain, during menstruation, it occurs due to the fact that every month inside a woman's body occurs:

• maturation of the egg;
• preparation of the inner surface of the uterus for the attachment of the ovum.

When pregnancy does not occur, the body has to renew this layer again, in fact, removing it, rejecting the cells. That is why there is irritation and pain that is characteristic of menstruation. Its manifestation will be individual, but many girls even have difficulty in doing ordinary things these days.

In addition, the uterus irritates the intestines located next to it, leading to the occurrence of:

• bloating;
• flatulence;
• diarrhea;
• frequent bowel movements.

For this condition, these manifestations are absolutely normal, however, terribly unpleasant.

An antispasmodic pill will help to calm the irritated organ. To reduce also the general irritability of the girl, also characteristic of this time, you can brew her tea with such herbs as:

• motherwort;
• hop;
• valerian, etc.

Let's summarize

Painful sensations in the abdomen are always a test for a child. Adults get used to enduring pain in life, so they relate to it easier than a small person who has not yet mastered this valuable skill. In addition, an adult understands exactly what he is in pain, and can, thus, explain with another adult about this and get help. However, at the same time, the child at the same time sometimes does not know how to speak, how, in fact, to gesticulate, therefore, it becomes unrealistically difficult to guess the true cause of his condition.

In this article, we do not suggest that you familiarize yourself with the "treatment" section, it is simply absent from the presented material. And there is a reason: the pathological conditions described above are far from all the reasons why a child may feel pain in the abdomen. In addition, even those listed here require an individual approach to treatment, which should be drawn up by a specialist in the field of medicine, and not necessarily by a gastroenterologist.

It is dangerous to engage in independent treatment of a baby without medical education, since taking even one medications can worsen his condition, and, depending on the age and severity of the disease, even lead to lethal outcome.