Many babies - boys five times more often than girls suffer in the first three to four months from abdominal pain, which can turn into abdominal cramps from time to time. The baby screams, pulls its legs towards itself and is not at rest even when you caress, feed or swaddle it. The causes of these so-called colic in the first three months are bloating and immaturity of the stomach.
Observe older children closely: for colic (cramping abdominal pain), the child lies upright or curled together, pressing his hands against his stomach and trying, but unable to calm down. In appendicitis, he repeatedly pulls his right leg toward him. Abdominal pains are without colic, but with terrible nausea.
Acute abdominal pain can have many causes from intestinal flu to constipation.
Loss of appetite
When a child is sick, especially with fever infections - he usually temporarily loses his appetite.
You should talk to your doctor if your child loses weight due to loss of appetite or if it is more severe due to diarrhea, constipation or diffuse abdominal pain.
Loss of appetite in otherwise healthy children is more of a problem for parents than children. It is perfectly normal for a child to be well for months and then not run for a long time. The daily calorie intake can range between 200 and 2000 calories.
When a child under the age of seven has pain, he complains most often of headaches and abdominal pain, even though the pain is in a completely different part of the body. Young children are not yet able to pinpoint the location of the pain. Carefully palpate the abdomen to check where it is more sensitive and where it is less sensitive and whether the baby is on a creamy face. School children usually give more accurate information about pain.
Acute pain can always be a sign of appendicitis. Therefore, see a doctor if they last longer than six hours. Abdominal pain is also a common side effect of colds, flu or pneumonia, and in childhood illnesses such as mumps.
When a child suffers for weeks or months from recurrent (chronic) abdominal pain, about 80 percent of the reason is in mental problems that are reflected through the stomach.
You can relieve the pain with warm belly compresses or a warm bottle. If the pain is getting worse despite the compresses, the cause may be appendicitis. Immediately place an ice pack on the baby's abdomen and see a doctor immediately.
Diarrhea
Children with diarrhea excrete large amounts of thin, watery stools, which can also contain blood and mucus. Excretion is often accompanied by cramping abdominal pain. The younger the child, the more dangerous the diarrheal diseases are: due to the loss of a lot of fluid, there is a risk of dehydration, especially when vomiting and fever occur at the same time. The most common cause of diarrhea is inflammation of the gastrointestinal mucosa.
If a child suffers from diarrhea, make sure it is much better to drink orange tea or tea with electrolytes from the pharmacy. Pay special attention to hygiene: always wash your hands after caring for a sick child and disinfect the toilet used by the child.
See a doctor if you have diarrhea:
• baby longer than 6 hours
• preschool child longer than 12 hours
• school child longer than 18 hours.
Tell your doctor what the stool was like: what color, did it have an unpleasant odor? Was it possible to identify food ingredients? Were there blood or mucus between the stools?
Vomiting
Vomiting is the jerky excretion of stomach contents through the mouth. The younger the child, the easier and more often he vomits.
About half of all babies occasionally water their food, which is caused by illness in only about five percent. Vomiting in infants can be quickly replaced by pouring from the stomach after drinking, with a small amount of milk flowing from their mouths.
As with diarrhea, children lose more fluid when they vomit. Offer your sick child drinks, either herbal tea, orange tea, or electrolyte tea from a pharmacy.
Prolonged vomiting is caused by a more serious illness. If a child has two meals in a row due to a headache, dizziness, fever or pain, you should seek medical advice immediately - the sooner the child is younger. Tell your doctor your observations of children digested or undigested food? Is vomiting foamy, bitter, or soaked with blood?
When and how often did the child vomit?
When a child is sick, have a bucket ready!
If the child starts choking, place your hand on his forehead and support his head - this will make it easier to vomit.
