Inflammatory processes in the liver are not considered rare, therefore they are also called hepatitis. In fact, there are many reasons for pathologies to develop in this important organ. Most often, they appear after infection by pathogenic bacteria. This condition is called reactive changes in the liver. Oddly enough, it is small children that are at risk, so parents should know why the disease occurs and how to deal with it.
Causes of the disease
Reactive liver changes in children, as a rule, occur after the child is ill with some serious disease. The child's immunity is weak after fighting other diseases, so he is most exposed to the penetration of pathogenic microbes into the body.
As soon as the disease begins to develop in humans, the biochemical composition of the blood changes. Reactive liver changes in the body can not be tolerated if you know what can cause them. Consider the main reasons why reactive changes in the liver in children can occur:
- The baby may have digestive, stomach or intestinal diseases, as a result of which the shape of the organ changes.
- A child may be sick with diseases such as lupus erythematosus or rheumatism, which negatively affects the liver.
- Diseases that spread to the glands, such as diabetes mellitus, can cause an inflammatory process in the liver.
- The disease can develop some time after poisoning with toxic substances.
- Even young children can have cancer of their internal organs.
To rule out any of these reasons, parents should ensure that the child undergoes a full examination and takes the correct treatment prescribed by the doctor. Most often, specialists have to treat reactive changes in the liver parenchyma of a child - inflammation of the fine-grained tissue, which is responsible for expelling bile. It should be noted that in this case, the liver can be completely restored with the right therapeutic treatment.
How does the disease manifest
It often happens that the disease proceeds without any symptoms, but if you take the child’s health with full responsibility, then perhaps the baby will complain about such ailments:
- The child will have reduced activity, because weakness is felt throughout the body.
- You can observe subfebrile temperature.
- Digestive problems appear, vomiting opens and diarrhea begins.
- The baby may complain of pain in the right hypochondrium.
- Signs of a reactive liver change in a child may be similar to other diseases in the digestive system or stomach, but the obvious fact that the baby has problems with this particular organ will be yellowness of the skin.
- With palpation, the doctor will be able to note an increase in liver in size.
It is important for parents not to miss the onset of the inflammatory process, then it will be possible to quickly restore the work of the organ without complications.
Diagnostics
To identify the disease, a small child needs to undergo a full examination of the entire body. First of all, urine and blood tests are taken to help identify changes in the composition. For example, in laboratory studies, you can notice an increase in hepatic transaminases and bilirubin, and the protein in the blood will be reduced.
In fact, it is not so easy to identify the inflammatory process in the liver, because diseases can be of different etiologies. A specialist can prescribe laboratory tests that will help rule out viral hepatitis, and conduct a biopsy. Regardless of the cause, reactive changes in the liver in a child are treatable.
Treatment
Basically, treatment depends on how much the organ was damaged, sometimes you have to completely restore the liver, and it happens that the changes affected only the parenchyma, and in this case it turns out to completely restore the body. For young children, treatment should be applied immediately, since a fragile body undergoes many diseases that spread very quickly, and if parents do not pay attention to the problem on time, this can be dangerous for the baby's life. Reactive changes in the vessels of the liver in the child occur instantly, so the general condition of the baby can worsen every day.
The main methods of treatment
All therapeutic methods will be aimed at eliminating the root cause. Parents should know that to restore the child’s liver, they will not only need to undergo a course of treatment, but also completely change their lifestyle and diet. The baby should not eat foods that overload the liver and prevent it from functioning normally. First of all, the doctor will prescribe a strict diet, which will be based on boiled and baked vegetables and fruits; children are also allowed to give a small amount of white poultry meat and low-fat fish. When a child has diffuse reactive changes in the liver, it is recommended to pay special attention to the drinking regimen.
The baby should drink plenty of clean water or special herbal teas. It is recommended to make tea from calendula and chamomile flowers, but before that it is important to consult a doctor.
Specialists prescribe medications for young children with liver diseases that help support the body and restore the diseased organ. These drugs include:
- Hepatoprotector of plant origin "Hofitol." It should be drunk in the course, at least it takes two weeks, the dosage is determined by the doctor on the basis of analyzes.
- With nausea and vomiting, Enterosgel and Sorbex enterosorbents are prescribed.
- If there is a suspicion that the cause of the disease lies in the infection, then antibiotics are considered mandatory. The most common of these is Nifuroxazide.
When a reactive liver change is diagnosed in a child, only a pediatrician can select the treatment. Parents must strictly follow all the doctor's recommendations to prevent complications.
How to restore the liver in a child
In addition to taking medications, a diet is mandatory. With any inflammatory processes in the liver, there are a large number of restrictions on food that are allowed to be taken. The baby is recommended to drink more freshly squeezed juices from various fruits and vegetables. Parents are advised to dress salads exclusively with olive oil. Products are selected so that they have a minimum amount of fat and a moderate amount of protein and carbohydrates. Cooked meals should be eaten warm. To restore the liver faster, you should eat these foods:
- You can eat any jam from berries and honey.
- If bread is used, then it must be yesterday.
- Fruits should not contain acid.
- Tea can be diluted with milk.
- Vegetables should be stewed or boiled.
- Omelet is made exclusively from protein.
- Low-fat broth.
- You can eat rabbit, poultry or sea fish.
Reactive changes in the liver in children are treated, only it is worth being patient and treating the child’s health with special attention.
Forecasts and reviews
It should be noted that the prognosis for the treatment of this disease is favorable. Liver tissue may not be seriously affected, only the organ's function changes. If treatment is started on time, the process will not progress. But it is worth remembering that the reviews of many experts indicate that with improper treatment or self-medication, the child can be harmed.
This will lead to the development of new liver diseases and exacerbation of other chronic diseases. Treatment can take place in a complex, for example, medications can be well combined with alternative methods and herbal medicine.
Prevention
To prevent reactive liver changes in children, it is important to know a few simple rules:
- From birth, make sure that the baby eats properly.
- Up to three years, the baby should be fed mashed food.
- Young children should not eat smoked, fried, or spicy foods.
- The child should eat in small portions, but often.
If parents follow these simple rules, then they will not have to face liver diseases in the child.