Each of us has at least once heard firsthand such an unpleasant phenomenon as abdominal pain. And very often they say that this is "indigestion." Vomiting is not always present. Especially in childhood, this phenomenon is common. In fact, there is no such thing in medical terminology. This ailment is called dyspepsia, which is a process of a pathological upset stomach.
Literally translated, this word means the negation of the positive property of the word "digestion". Roughly speaking, this is a difficult or disturbed process of digesting food.
Currently, this disorder is diagnosed quite often.
In fact, dyspepsia is not a diagnosis as such. Rather, it is a complex of symptomatic manifestations that can accompany various pathological and physiological conditions or be a consequence of their action.
Why does indigestion arise? Let's figure it out.
The main causes of dyspeptic manifestations
Depending on the causes of the upset of normal stomach activity, it is customary to classify dyspepsia into functional and organic.
The main causes of the first condition are:
- If food is taken in a hurry, chewed poorly, it is very difficult to digest it and the process of production of gastric juice is difficult.
- Overeating is one of the most common digestive upsets. As they say in everyday life, "the stomach could not cope" or "the stomach has become." Excess food always leads to digestion and food does not have time to digest.
- Carbonated drinks provoke excessive flatulence and, accordingly, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
- "Heavy" food: excess fried, spicy, peppered, salty, etc.
- The abuse of coffee and tea. Caffeine increases the level of acidity, which entails a result in the form of irritation of the gastric mucosa.
- Alcohol consumption - also does not always remain invisible to the digestive tract.
- Violation of diet. Both too frequent and too rare meals do not contribute to the healthy functioning of the stomach.
- Increased physical activity after meals can also disrupt the digestive process.
- Psycho-emotional upheaval also does not go unnoticed by the digestive tract.
- Many pharmacological drugs have side effects of the digestive tract as side effects.
- Helicobacteria can also cause indigestion.
Organic dyspepsia
The most common causes are:
- Diseases of the digestive tract.
- Impaired liver function, for example, cholecystitis is always accompanied by impaired digestion.
- Increased acidity of the stomach (its manifestation is heartburn)
- Gallbladder disease.
- Pancreatitis
- Malignant tumors of the digestive tract.
With organic dyspepsia, frequent spasmodic pains of a paroxysmal nature are characteristic. Also, this type of dyspepsia is characterized by seasonal exacerbations of manifestations, which, according to observations, most often occur in late autumn or early spring.
Functional dyspepsia
When “indigestion” occurs, as they say, out of the blue, in the absence of diagnoses of gastrointestinal tract diseases, then, in most cases, there is functional dyspepsia, that is, situational disturbance of the functioning of the stomach, provoked by some single factors. It is customary to distinguish the following types of functional dyspepsia:
- Fermentative dyspepsia. It is easy to guess that this type of disorder provokes the use of products that provoke fermentation processes in the stomach. These are products that contain a large amount of carbohydrates, fiber of plant origin, drinks obtained as a result of fermentation, for example, beer and kvass.
- Fatty dyspepsia. Its cause is the consumption of large amounts of foods high in fat.
- Putrid dyspepsia. It causes an excess of protein food. I would especially like to note this type of dyspepsia in connection with their particular frequency in recent times. Symptoms of indigestion are rather unpleasant.
Recently, a hobby for the so-called protein diets for weight loss has become fashionable: the Ducan diet, the Kremlin diet. These diets are based on increased protein intake and minimized carbohydrate intake. It is due to the imbalance of the protein-carbohydrate content of food, as a result of which the desired metabolic processes are launched in the body, and the results of weight loss are achieved. But doctors around the world point out the particular harm of this particular type of diet: they lead to a huge load on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidneys. The body is accumulating toxic products of protein breakdown, that is, simply intoxication of the body. Unfortunately, the consequences of such pathological chronic poisoning can be irreversible and forever disrupt not only the gastrointestinal tract so that dyspepsia will become a constant companion of life for a lover of such diets, but also for other organs.
Manifestations of dyspepsia
Unfortunately, indigestion is insidious in that it does not have any significant distinguishing features, according to which it can be 100% said that these are just phenomena of functional dyspepsia, and not formidable bells of pathological diseases of the digestive tract. Therefore, doctors advise: if dyspeptic phenomena make themselves felt for three months, regardless of the degree of regularity, this is a serious reason to conduct an examination for the presence of gastrointestinal diseases.
Consider the main symptoms of indigestion.
Symptomatology
The following symptoms of digestive disorders are distinguished:
- Abdominal pain, often spasmodic.
- A feeling of general discomfort and a feeling of heaviness in the gastrointestinal tract, especially after eating.
- The feeling of fullness of food occurs very quickly, food is taken in small portions, after which there is a persistent and stubborn feeling of fullness, followed by a lack or violation of habitual appetite and even the development of an aversion to food.
- Belching and heartburn are the most common symptoms of indigestion in adults.
- Persistent nausea, which often ends with vomiting.
- Increased gas formation.
- General deterioration of health, weakness.
- Diarrhea or, conversely, constipation.
- General intoxication of the body may be present.
Symptoms and treatment of indigestion in adults are interrelated.
Very often, dyspepsia can be observed after heavy meals, eating fatty foods, and even significant physical exertion can trigger reactions from the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms of indigestion in a child are not particularly different from adults.
We repeat, if the manifestation of dyspeptic symptoms is regular and is noted for a long period of time, then this is an occasion to see a doctor and conduct an examination. Timely treatment started will help to avoid negative consequences and pathologies that risk becoming chronic.
Before considering the treatment of indigestion in adults, you need to familiarize yourself with the diagnosis of this pathology.
Diagnostics
- Fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FEGDS). If necessary, a bioptic test is also taken. This is a common method for determining gastric ulcer. FEGDS is an endoscopic method involving a visual examination of the surface of the stomach, as well as the duodenum using a video endoscope.
- Integrated ultrasound of the state of internal organs - and not only the digestive tract.
- Laboratory study for Helicobacteria - the causative agent of diseases.
- A general blood test, which allows you to get a general picture of the state of the body and determine the presence of an inflammatory process in the body.
- A general analysis of feces is carried out in order to determine the presence of hidden bleeding of internal organs.
If all of the above examination methods do not give a picture of the presence of the disease, then in most cases we are talking about functional digestive upset. In this case, there is symptomatic treatment aimed at minimizing and eliminating unpleasant manifestations from the gastrointestinal tract and normalizing the work of the stomach.
How is indigestion treated in a child? About it below.
Therapies
The following are non-drug recommendations:
- After eating, it is not recommended to go to bed. You can walk or engage in moderate physical activity for half an hour after eating.
- Exercising is useful, but it is better to exclude a set of exercises that affect the muscles of the peritoneal cavity, for example, abs training is best avoided.
- During sleep, the head should be slightly raised to avoid throwing the contents of the stomach into the esophagus and, accordingly, heartburn.
- Compliance with the principles of proper nutrition and a sparing diet: avoid overeating, foods with high acidity, minimize the use of fried, fatty, salty, smoked foods.
If signs of dyspepsia are detected at an early stage, the above recommendations may well help normalize the digestive tract. Consider the treatment of indigestion with drugs.
Medical methods
Methods of treatment of functional dyspepsia are reduced to the elimination of dyspeptic symptoms, consequences and normalization of the digestive tract. It is necessary to help the body restore impaired digestive functions.
The treatment regimen usually involves:
- Taking laxatives or, on the contrary, antidiarrheal drugs. Their reception is carried out until the disappearance of the symptoms that they are aimed at eliminating.
- Painkillers aimed at eliminating cramping pains in the stomach.
- Enzymes. They are assistants in the enzymatic processing of incoming food, help break it down.
- H2-histamine blockers. They can reduce the acidity level of gastric juice.
If dyspeptic manifestations are a consequence of diseases of the digestive tract, then the above symptomatic methods should also be accompanied by the treatment of diseases that cause dyspepsia.
Dyspepsia in children
Separately, dyspepsia in children is worth noting.
As in adults, dyspepsia in children is also a digestive disorder. It just has small features that often cause anxiety among parents. Especially important is the timely establishment of upset digestive function in children, since for prolonged dyspepsia of childhood there is the possibility of complicating consequences, for example, the well-known "dehydration", which poses a great danger to the child’s body. Especially if dyspepsia occurs against the background of other chronic or acute diseases.
What to do with indigestion in children?
Causes of dyspepsia in children
In infancy, these are:
- overfeeding;
- prematurity;
- GI underdevelopment;
- enzymatic deficiency, both pathological and physiological plan (this means that the child’s body is not yet ready to digest a certain product due to the immaturity of the enzymatic system);
- too early feeding;
- inability of the digestive tract of babies to cope with the amount of incoming food.
After a year and older
Very often, parents want to feed the child with goodies and overdo it. At an early age, the development of dyspepsia is promoted by the use of harmful products, such as confectionery, chips, sodas, fast foods, sausages. For children's gastrointestinal tract, such food carries a special burden and harm.
School and adolescence
Due to the rapid hormonal changes in the body and the active growth of internal organs, a periodic manifestation of functional dyspepsia is also possible, when suddenly, practically out of the blue, without any significant changes in the usual diet, the child complains of stomach and gastrointestinal disorders.
According to Dr. Komarovsky, the highest risk group for developing simple (functional) dyspepsia includes children prone to anemia, rickets, suffering from various allergic reactions, autoimmune diseases.
Varieties of childhood dyspepsia
In children, the same types of dyspepsia are observed as in adults. We examined them in detail above.
The most characteristic symptoms of gastrointestinal upset in children are as follows:
- increased flatulence;
- frequent spitting up (in newborns and infants);
- sleep disorder, anxiety, moodiness;
- lack of appetite;
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea.
Untimely measures taken to normalize and establish the causes of dyspeptic disorders can lead to a toxic form, which is characterized by general pallor and weakness, as well as fever, repeated vomiting and worsening of the general condition of the body.
It is impossible to engage in self-medication, it is imperative to see a doctor, and in case of urgent need to call an ambulance.
Methods for diagnosing dyspepsia
Diagnostic methods are aimed at differentiating simple dyspepsia from diseases such as fermentopathy / enteritis, colitis and other organic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
The following diagnostic methods are used:
- radiography of the stomach;
- duodenal sounding;
- examination of the intesophageal (intragastric) environment;
- Ultrasound of the digestive tract;
- esophagogastroduodenoscopy;
- bacterial stool cultures;
- blood biochemistry;
- coprogram;
- UAC and OAM;
- laboratory blood tests for enzymes;
- analysis of feces for helminthic invasion.
How to establish digestion?
The most effective treatments for simple dyspepsia at home include:
- Compliance with a diet with the exception of any heavy food, and in the first few hours of an exacerbation of the disease - eating is excluded. Give the child only water or tea.
- Restoring the body’s water-electrolyte balance due to fluid loss as a result of repeated vomiting and diarrhea. This is a reception of "Rehydron", or solutions of sodium chlorine, or based on glucose. How to treat indigestion in a child with medication?
- Recovery of intestinal microflora. Use such drugs as Linex, Bifidum, Bifiform, Acipol, etc.
- In order to detoxify and reduce flatulence, sorbents are taken, such as the well-known Smecta, as well as Atoxil and Enterosgel.
- Digestion stabilization is carried out using enzymatic preparations: “Creon”, “Pancreatin”. At an older age, children are given "Festal", "Mezim".
Indigestion treatment should be carried out strictly under the supervision of a physician.
In severe toxic forms of dyspepsia, hospitalization and treatment in a hospital are required. Toxic forms of dyspepsia are complicated cases of simple dyspepsia, when outpatient treatment has no effect due to the severity of the disease, or outpatient care began to be provided out of time.
We examined the symptoms and treatment of indigestion.