Alimentary dyspepsia in children is a common disease that is characterized by a violation of the digestive process. Most often, this pathology is diagnosed in children under the age of one year, but it also occurs in the older generation. The severity of the course of the disease depends on the amount of food consumed by the child. And this is due to the fact that the digestive system at this age is not always ready to cope with the volume of incoming food. It is easy to identify the disease at the initial stage, because the symptoms are quite pronounced.
Varieties of dyspepsia
There are several types of dyspepsia in children: functional or alimentary, toxic and parenteral.
Alimentary form is a digestive disorder that occurs due to an unbalanced diet of the baby. This form is divided into five varieties:
- Fermentation is caused by fermentation processes that occur due to excessive consumption of foods containing carbohydrates. As a result, fermentation bacteria quickly multiply in the baby’s colon.
- Putrid - when the intestines of a child are colonized by putrefactive microbes, the reproduction of which provokes food that is saturated with protein.
- Fatty is characteristic for children who eat a large amount of fatty foods.
- Toxic A very dangerous type of alimentary dyspepsia in the baby. The main source of the problem is intestinal infections, such as salmonella, E. coli, shigella, and other pathogens.
- Parenteral develops due to complications after an illness, such as pneumonia.
Often in newborns, 3-5 days after birth, temporary dyspepsia is observed. It lasts only a few days, until the child’s body adapts to the external environment, does not require any treatment, since it passes on its own.
Causes of Alimentary Dyspepsia
The main reason for the development of dyspepsia in children is a violation of the diet, often young parents overfeed their babies, worrying that they will cry from hunger.
If the baby is offered food that does not correspond to his age, for example, complementary foods are introduced early and done wrong, then this provokes a violation of the digestion processes in the intestine.
There are many unfavorable factors that provoke the development of nutritional dyspepsia (ICD code 10 - K30).
Children under one year of age suffer most often, and there are many reasons for this:
- Binge eating. Most often observed in children who are breast-fed, because the child is much easier to suck milk from a bottle, and he can not stop, which ultimately leads to overeating.
- A small amount of digestive enzymes.
- Eating foods that are not suitable for the baby by age. That is why a young mother needs not only to know when to administer complementary foods to her baby while breastfeeding, but also what foods. Pediatricians are advised to stay on single-component dishes and begin to enter them in the diet no earlier than at 4 months, if the baby is on artificial feeding. If the mother is breastfeeding, then complementary foods should be postponed until 6 months.
- Prematurity.
In older children, dyspepsia develops due to such reasons:
- Excessive consumption of foods difficult for digestion. These include: fried, spicy, smoked and fatty dishes.
- Violation of diet, such as a hearty dinner just before going to bed.
- Hormonal changes characteristic of puberty.
There are a number of common reasons that are characteristic of any age:
- malfunctions of the nervous system;
- allergic reactions;
- rickets;
- anemia;
- parasitic infestations;
- avitaminosis;
- small body weight.
Alimentary dyspepsia in children is a serious disease that is accompanied by unpleasant symptoms.
Symptoms of dyspepsia
The clinical manifestations of dyspepsia in infants and older children are characterized by the following symptoms:
- constipation, which is subsequently replaced by diarrhea;
- frequent bowel movements, up to 5 times a day;
- the presence in the feces of mucus and lumps;
- bloating;
- increased gas separation;
- fast saturation;
- decreased or lack of appetite;
- intestinal colic;
- burping.
Similar symptoms are observed within a week, if you do not seek help from a specialist and start timely treatment, then the child develops a more severe form - toxic. You can determine the development of a severe form by the following signs:
- a sharp increase in body temperature, up to a fever;
- constant feeling of nausea and frequent vomiting;
- diarrhea, the intestines of the child can be emptied up to 20 times a day;
- severe dehydration;
- sinking of the fontanel in infants;
- a sharp decrease in body weight;
- decreased reflexes;
- lack of interest in the new and previously unseen;
- cramps and seizures.
The toxic form of alimentary dyspepsia can cause impaired consciousness, the development of coma and death.
What happens in the body with dyspepsia?
The mucous membrane of the small intestine in a child and an adult is quickly updated, while all nutrients are lost along with the dying cells. The epithelium is updated in a couple of days. That is why the rectum reacts very strongly to the lack of certain components. For the normal structure of the mucosa, a large number of nutritious products are necessary, with age, their assortment increases.
An important role in the pathogenesis is played by the exocrine pancreatic function and the separation of bile. After food that has not been completely digested enters the small intestine, the correct secretion of enzymes is disrupted. Such conditions lead to the fact that the motor function of the intestine is impaired, bacteria spread throughout the intestine, which ultimately provokes the processes of decay and fermentation.
This condition leads to the formation of toxic products in large quantities, such as skatol, indole, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and others. These substances irritate the intestinal mucosa, which affects its motility, and the result is diarrhea. The accelerated passage of food does not allow digestion to function properly. With alimentary dyspepsia, lime salts are formed in the body that kill bifidobacteria, which normally live in a healthy intestine.
That is why it is important for parents to pay attention to the first symptoms in time and seek the advice of a specialist.
Diagnosis of dyspepsia
If there is a suspicion that the child is developing dyspepsia, then an urgent need to consult a specialist. He will collect an anamnesis, find out from his parents, when the first symptoms appeared, how severe they are. After that, the doctor will evaluate the symptoms and additionally prescribe laboratory tests of feces.
It is important for a specialist to accurately diagnose, excluding the development of other diseases, such as:
- chronic enteritis;
- atrophic gastritis;
- chronic pancreatitis.
To get more accurate data on the condition of the intestines of the child, parents need to know how to collect feces for analysis in the child.
Collection of feces for analysis
All adults know that collecting urine and feces is necessary in the morning, immediately after a person wakes up. But it’s very difficult to make a small child empty his intestines in the morning. Many parents resort to an enema, but pediatricians do not advise doing this. In infants, feces can be collected even if its intestines become empty in the afternoon. The main thing is that it is stored in the refrigerator.
How to collect feces for analysis in a child:
- First of all, purchase a special container from the pharmacy with a plastic spoon on the lid;
- It is not necessary to wash the child before collecting feces, because it is not always possible to guess when he wants to empty his intestines;
- you can collect feces from a disposable diaper, using a special spoon that comes with the container;
- the resulting analysis is sent to the refrigerator, and in the morning it is handed over to the laboratory for analysis.
You can not store feces for more than two days, in this case, the received data will be with errors. It is better to collect material per day before passing the analysis.
After receiving the data on the analysis, the pediatric doctor will be examined by a gastroenterologist and will select an individual treatment regimen for the child.
Drug treatment
To eliminate the symptoms of dyspepsia that are unpleasant for a child, it is important to find the cause of their appearance. After it is found, a whole therapeutic complex is selected, which includes:
- compliance with the diet;
- taking medications;
- other procedures, such as a massage of the abdomen, which helps relieve pain and improves the functioning of the digestive system.
As for the selection of drugs, then most often experts dwell on the following:
- "Maalox";
- Mezim;
- Cisapride.
These medicines help to ease the process of digesting food, thanks to which the intestinal microflora is restored, and heaviness and pain in the stomach go away.
Dietary nutrition for dyspepsia
If you do not follow a special diet, then drug treatment will not bring any results. The diet is based on reducing the amount of food consumed by a child and restoring the body's water balance.
Diet for a child with dyspepsia is designed for 5 days:
- On the first day, you need to take a break between feedings for a period of 8 hours. During this period, the baby must be given to drink more fluid. Suitable for both children's tea and special pharmacy products that help eliminate dehydration (Regidron).
- On the second day, the baby is fed as usual, but only the amount of food consumed is reduced. Nutrition during this period is not administered. The amount of food should be 75% of the age norm.
- On the third day, feeding takes place as usual, but the portion is reduced by another 10%, the missing amount is replaced with liquid.
- On the fourth day, the child is fed as usual, in accordance with his age category. Nutrition is not administered.
- On the fifth day, it is allowed to introduce complementary foods in the form of products that the child has already consumed previously. New foods are not introduced.
Nutrition for children up to a year for months should be strictly scheduled. From the table below, you can find out when and in what quantity to introduce complementary foods to the baby, as well as the allowable amount of writing that the baby should eat.
Do not ignore it and decide for yourself when and in what quantity to add new products to the diet. This kind of solution can lead to the development of serious pathologies, which will be difficult to cure.
Percussion Hazards
Infants cannot control the amount of food they eat. Therefore, it is important to ensure that the portions are age-appropriate. Overfeeding can also provoke dyspepsia in the baby. In the table below, you can get acquainted with the nutritional norms of children up to a year by month. You should not strictly adhere to these norms, because all values are averaged, and the appetite in children is determined by individual parameters, but you should still pay attention to these points.
If you notice signs of overfeeding in your baby (frequent regurgitation, increased gas formation, excessive weight gain), then it is worth adjusting his diet.
Alternative methods of treating dyspepsia
It can be difficult for parents to determine the causes of bloating in the child after eating. Treatment of this symptom should be carried out by a specialist after the cause of this condition is found. The doctor may recommend taking pharmacy drugs or traditional medicine recipes. Effectively cope with the symptoms of dyspepsia will help such recipes:
- Rice broth. To cook it, you need to take 1 teaspoon of rice and pour it with a liter of water. Put it on low heat to boil until rice is completely boiled. The result should be a paste, which is filtered through cheesecloth and give the child two tablespoons every 2-3 hours.
- A decoction of oak bark will help secure the chair. To prepare it, you need 1 teaspoon of crushed bark, which is poured into a glass of water and sent to simmer for 15 minutes to simmer. After this, the broth is removed from the heat, cool, add water to the desired amount and give the child up to 1 year old to drink a teaspoon up to 5 times a day.
- It is important not only to eliminate the symptoms, but also to find the cause of bloating after eating. Treatment can be supplemented by the use of a decoction of pomegranate peel. To prepare it, you need a teaspoon of powder obtained from the dried pomegranate peel, which is poured with 500 ml of hot water, kept in a water bath for 15 minutes. After this, the broth is insisted for two hours and filtered. A child up to a year is given a teaspoon of funds no more than three times a day.
Alimentary dyspepsia in children is treated quickly if all the recommendations are followed, but it is still better not to allow its development. Parents are better off taking preventative measures.
Dyspepsia Prevention
Preventive measures for an intestinal disorder of this kind consist in observing a number of rules:
- parents should rationally and balanced feed their child according to his age;
- no overeating or eating poor-quality food;
- adolescents need to lead a healthy lifestyle;
- regular exercise is required;
- strict hygiene before eating is shown;
- A regular visit to a specialist is required, at least once a year.
The prognosis for children who have been diagnosed with dyspepsia, mostly favorable, ends with a quick and complete recovery without consequences and complications. But if the parents do not seek help in a timely manner, do not follow the doctor’s recommendations, the prognosis will not be so comforting. The child may develop a toxic form, and it will already entail coma or death of the child.