Child's stomach pain: What's it, symptoms, diagnostics, treatment, prevention

Synonyms: Abdominal pain in children; Abdominal cramps in children; Why does the stomach hurt in children

Abdominal pain – children under age 12; Stomach pain in children; Pain – abdomen – children; Abdominal cramps in children; Belly ache in children

What is abdominal pain in a child

Almost all children experience abdominal pain at one time or another.. Abdominal pain is pain in the stomach or abdomen. It can occur anywhere in the area between the chest and groin..

In most cases, pain is not a serious problem.. But sometimes abdominal pain in a child can be a sign of a serious illness.. Find Out, when you should seek immediate medical attention for your child with abdominal pain.

If your child complains of abdominal pain, look, can he describe it to you. Here are the different types of pain:

• Generalized pain or pain in more than half of the abdomen. The child may have such pain, when he has a viral stomach disease, stomach upset, gas or constipation.
• Spasmodic pain. Likely caused by gas and bloating. Often accompanied by diarrhea. Usually not a serious threat.
• colicky pain. This type of pain comes in waves. It often starts and ends abruptly.
• Localized pain is pain in only one area of ​​the abdomen.. The child may have problems with the appendix, gallbladder, hernia (intestinal torsion), ovaries, testicles or stomach (ulcer).

If you have a baby, it depends on your understanding, what hurts him. The following symptoms may indicate abdominal pain:

• The child is more fussy, than usual
• Pulls legs to stomach
• Doesn't eat well

Causes of abdominal pain in a child

A child's stomach can hurt for many reasons.. It might be hard to understand, why does a child have a stomach ache. In most cases this is not something serious.. But sometimes pain can be a sign of a dangerous disease and the child needs medical attention..

Child, probably, experiencing pain in the abdomen due to something, that is not life-threatening. For Example, cause may be:

• Swallowing air
• Abdominal migraine
• Gripes
• Constipation
• Gas
• Food allergy or intolerance
• Heartburn or acid reflux
• Eating grass or plants
• Stomach flu or food poisoning
• Streptococcal angina or mononucleosis («Mono»)
• Pain, caused by anxiety or depression

The child may have something more serious, if the pain does not improve within 24 hours, increase or become more frequent. Abdominal pain in this case can cause:

• accidental poisoning
• Appendicitis
• Gallstones
• Hernia or other bowel curvature, blockage or obstruction
• Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis)
• Intussusception, caused by the retraction of part of the intestine
• Pregnancy
• sickle cell crisis
• Stomach ulcer
• If swallowed, a foreign body, especially coins or other hard objects
• Perversion (twisting) ovary
• Perversion (twisting) eggs
• tumor or cancer
• Unusual hereditary metabolic disorders (such as abnormal accumulation of proteins and sugar breakdown products)
• Urinary tract infection

Care and treatment of a child with abdominal pain

In most cases, you can use home remedies and wait., until the child gets better. If you're worried, that the child's pain is getting worse, or if the pain lasts longer 24 hours, call your doctor.

• Ask the child to lie down quietly, To view, will stomach pain go away.
• Offer him water or other clear liquid to drink..
• Have your child go to the toilet.

Avoid giving your child solid food for several hours. Then try giving him some soft foods., like rice, applesauce or crackers.

Don't give your child food or drink, that irritate the stomach. If your stomach hurts, the following foods should be avoided by the child:

• Caffeine
• Carbonated drinks
• Citrus
• Dairy
• Fried or fatty foods
• Foods high in fat
• Products, containing tomatoes

Don't give aspirin, Ibuprofen, acetaminophen (tylenol) or similar medicines, without consulting the child's doctor.

To prevent many types of abdominal pain in a child:

• Don't feed him fatty foods.
• The child should drink plenty of water every day.
• The child should eat more often, small portions.
• Regular exercise will reduce the risk of abdominal pain in a child.
• Limit your child's food intake, cause flatulence.
• Check, that the child's diet is well balanced and high in fiber. Give your child lots of fruits and vegetables.

To reduce the risk of accidental poisoning and ingestion of foreign bodies:

• Keep all cleaning products and hazardous materials in their original containers.
• Store hazardous items in places, inaccessible to babies and children.
• Do not let babies and young children play with objects, which they can easily swallow.

When to Call a Health Care Professional for Child Abdominal Pain

Call a doctor, if the pain in the abdomen does not go away within 24 hours.

Seek immediate medical attention or call an ambulance, if the child has the following symptoms:

• The child is younger 3 months diarrhea or vomiting
• Child undergoing cancer treatment
• Can't defecate, especially if the child is also vomiting
• Vomiting blood or blood in the stool (especially if the blood is burgundy or dark, pitch black)
• Sudden sharp pain in the abdomen
• Hard, hard stomach
• Have a recent abdominal injury
• Breathing problems

Call a doctor, if the child has:

• Abdominal pain, which lasts 1 a week or longer, even if she comes and goes.
• Abdominal pain, that does not go away within 24 hours, which becomes stronger and more frequent, or if yours develops nausea and vomiting.
• Burning sensation while urinating.
• more diarrhea 2 days.
• Vomiting more 12 hours.
• Fever above 100.4°F (38°C).
• Poor appetite more 2 days.
• Unexplained weight loss.

What to Expect When Visiting a Doctor for Child Abdominal Pain

Tell the doctor about the location of the child's pain, her character and time. Tell your doctor, if there are other symptoms, such as fever, fatigue, general malaise, behavior change, nausea, vomiting or changes in stool.

The doctor may ask questions about abdominal pain:

• What part of the abdomen hurts? Everywhere? Bottom or top? Right, left or middle? Around the navel?
• Is the pain sharp or cramping, constant or comes and goes, or the intensity changes within a few minutes?
• Pain wakes the child at night?
• Has the child had similar pains in the past?? How long was each episode? How often did it happen?
• The pain gets stronger?
• Does the pain get worse after eating or drinking?? After eating fatty foods, dairy products or carbonated drinks? The child began to eat something new?
• Does the pain improve after eating or having a bowel movement??
• Does pain get worse after stress??
• Has there been a recent injury?
• What other symptoms occur at the same time?

During the physical examination, the doctor will check, Is there pain in one area? (pinpoint soreness) or is it spreading.

He may order or perform some tests, to find out the cause of the pain. Tests may include:

• Blood tests, urine and feces
• CT (computed tomography or advanced imaging)
• US (sound research) abdomen
• X-ray of the abdomen and chest

Sources

1. Maqbool A, Liacouras CA. Major symptoms and signs of digestive tract disorders. In: Kliegman RM, St Geme JW, Blum NJ, Shah SS, Tasker RC, Wilson KM, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 21st ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2020:chap 332.
2. Miranda A. Abdominal pain. In: Kliegman RM, Lye PS, Bordini BJ, Toth H, Basel D, eds. Nelson Pediatric Symptom-Based Diagnosis. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 10.
3. Seller Rh, Symons AB. Abdominal pain in children. In: Seller RH, Symons AB, eds. Differential Diagnosis of Common Complaints. 7th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 2.
4. Smith KA. Abdominal pain. In: Walls RM, Hockberger RS, Gausche-Hill M, eds. Rosen’s Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2018:chap 24.