Painful tummy is sometimes a big reason to visit a pediatrician. It can cause serious discomfort to a child or might be an on and off problem. As child’s threshold to tolerate pain is less than adult, so they sometimes suffer a lot leading to big panic condition in family. It is very often encountered problem in children.
Abdomen pain can be:-
- Acute onset : that arise recently like overnight
- Chronic: that persisting since long duration
Causes of such pain can be:-
Due to underlying problem like gastritis, appendicitis, gastroenteritis etc.
Functional here child tends to complaint, but no underlying problems seen.
Idiopathic condition where cause is not known.
Acute abdomen pain:
Its sudden onset, due to some underlying problems like gastritis, gastric acidity, appendix pain, urinary tract infection, intestinal obstruction etc.
Not all episodes of acute abdominal pain require surgical intervention. Oral medication mostly solves the problem. To diagnose the condition proper evaluation of child is necessary:-
Like onset of pain whether it is sudden or gradual
Type of pain whether it is continuous or intermittent, pricking or colicy
Whether it is associated with other symptoms like fever, vomiting, loose stools etc.
Location of pain over abdomen like over umbilicus, lower area or upper area.
Investigations that are helpful to diagnose are
- Lab tests like complete blood counts, CRP, Urine examination, stool examination
- Imaging like ultrasound of abdomen, Xray abdomen, CT scan
Chronic abdomen pain:-
Its like multiple episodes of abdominal pain over last 3 months which sometimes is very severe causing disturbed daily activity.
It affects more than 10% of children.
Commonly seen in age group of 7-12 years.
Causes can be Inflammatory bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, coeliac disease, gall stones etc.
Functional pain abdomen:-
It is most common type of pain seen in children where cause is not known. Such pain usually occurs daily. It is not associated with food habits or toilet training. It disturbs day to day activity of children. It leads to personality disorder like anxiety, stress of school etc.
Irritable bowel syndrome:
It differs from functional pain abdomen in a way:-
IBS pain starts with change in stool frequency and consistency.
Stool pattern changes from diarrhea to constipation.
Pain relievers with defecation as it is problem with gut motility.
Associated with behavioral issues.
Management of functional component of recurrent abdominal pain is more towards dealing with child’s anxiety, stress, behavioral problems, routine diet etc cuddleschildclinic.com
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