Blood from the anus in a child is a serious symptom that should alert parents. Treatment and prevention in each case will be different - so you can’t delay, the condition of the child may worsen. Depending on the degree of manifestation of the pathology and associated symptoms, you can independently draw a conclusion about the diagnosis. This does not eliminate the need to visit a doctor and identify the exact cause of the discharge.
Types of Anal Bleeding
An important note: it is not always what seems to be blood, it is. Young children, for example, often do not have enough enzymes to digest beets and tomatoes - they go out undigested, as a result, parents start to panic, although in fact there is no reason for it. If you can immediately contact a pediatric gastroenterologist or at least a therapist, you should immediately do this and dispel your doubts about why the child has blood from the anus.
Depending on the intensity and density of the discharge, you can judge the true cause of the discharge:
- A sharp and abundant discharge of blood from the rectum, which arose on its own, requires urgent medical intervention. Most likely, this revealed internal bleeding, which often leads to death without the necessary surgical intervention.
- Blood residues on toilet paper after an act of defecation, that is, minimal discharge indicates a crack in the rectum or hemorrhoids. There is nothing life-threatening in this pathology, but local treatment will have to be carried out.
- If vomiting occurs in the feces in parallel with blood clots, the temperature rises - most likely, the child has an infectious disease or serious poisoning.
- Moderate bleeding from the rectum, which appears after bowel movement, indicates pathologies of the intestine or organs of the gastrointestinal tract. It is necessary as soon as possible to deliver the child to the emergency room or at the appointment with a gastroenterologist in order to exclude the possibility of internal bleeding.
Concomitant symptoms
Before taking a doctor’s appointment, the parent should independently collect the entire medical history of his child’s condition. It is necessary to measure temperature, pressure, examine the body - whether there are rashes, swelling, diaper rash, dermatitis. Of course, at the appointment, the doctor himself will perform all these manipulations - but he will also need information on how long the associated symptoms arose and what preceded them.
It is important to track what the child ate two to three days before the onset of signs of pathology, did not fall, or did not swallow solid objects. Kids often swallow stones and other sharp objects that cause internal bleeding and bowel obstruction. If the parents do not pay attention to the symptoms in time (in particular, the presence of blood from the anus in the child) and do not seek medical help, the case may be fatal.
Most common causes
Self-diagnosis is unacceptable. It is necessary to consult with the ambulance operator at least by phone about further treatment. Attitude “through the sleeves” to the problem can lead to serious consequences, even death.
List of the most common reasons why a child has blood from a priest:
- Lactose intolerance.
- A crack in the rectum or hemorrhoids.
- Diarrhea of an infectious origin.
- Bowel obstruction syndrome.
- Hirschsprung's disease in a child.
- Nonspecific ulcerative colitis.
- Internal bleeding in a child.
Lactose intolerance in a child
This pathology is diagnosed after special laboratory tests in approximately 0.5% of children. Of course, this percentage is very small - but in what kind of surprise parents usually stay after learning that their child has such a rare allergy!
The lactose intolerance in a child is accompanied by the following symptoms:
- frequent diarrhea and constipation even after completely seemingly dietary food;
- the presence of uterus, pus and blood in the stool;
- frequent weakness, poor health;
- nausea and even vomiting after eating some dairy products, sauces.
Parents are often confused - for example, after eating porridge in milk (which at first glance completely corresponds to the norms of a healthy diet), vomiting begins, and blood from the priests of the child is detected. It is necessary to consult a gastroenterologist with such symptoms. After laboratory studies, it will be possible to say with accuracy what is the cause of this malaise. There is only one treatment for lactose intolerance - a strict diet throughout the rest of your life, which excludes the presence of any dairy products in the diet.
A crack in the rectum or hemorrhoids
This cause of blood from the anus in a child is also relatively rare. It is characterized by small secretions of blood or anemia from the rectum, either directly with feces, or immediately after emptying.
Hemorrhoids in children also develop relatively rarely. Especially drop-down nodes - but they are immediately noticeable visually, so that any parent can accurately distinguish this diagnosis from all others.
As a treatment, a proctologist or gastroenterologist will prescribe a suppository with a healing and analgesic effect. Usually, one course is enough to forget about the symptoms for a long time. Prevention of exacerbation of hemorrhoids - moderate exercise, lack of fatigue, proper nutrition, which would eliminate the possibility of constipation.
Infectious diarrhea
If blood flows from the anus in a child, while high temperature rises, vomiting and severe nausea are a sure sign that the baby has rotavirus or other intestinal infection. In some cases, this pathology can be fatal. Depending on the severity of the course and the body's ability to resist viral load, the prescribed treatment and its result will differ.
As a rule, with such symptoms, the child is hospitalized in the infectious ward, where he will be safe for others and will not be able to infect anyone. Within ten to fourteen days, the infection is stopped with the help of special drugs, and a completely healthy child returns home.
Bowel obstruction in a child
This is a very dangerous condition. Kids often secretly from their parents manage to put in their mouth and swallow an object that is not edible. It can be a metal bead, a wheel from a typewriter, or any other item. If it is not spicy - it is relatively safe, it can simply come out with feces. But if he can injure the walls of the intestine and get stuck inside - this often causes blood from the anus in the child.
To get rid of this condition, you should immediately contact an ambulance. Surgery is likely to be required to stop internal bleeding and rid the intestine of a stuck item.
Hirschsprung's disease in a child
This is a fairly rare congenital malformation of the colon. From birth, it manifests itself from birth by persistent constipation, flatulence, pain in the epigastric region, severe problems with feces and stomach of the "frog". With this disease, the stool in infants is very hard, often you have to carry out enemas, hence the trauma of the rectal mucosa and the child has blood from the priests.
If there is a suspicion of such a rare disease, you should consult a pediatrician. Perhaps, to solve the problem, just enough to change the food - the chair will improve. Young parents often like to seek out rare diseases from their children. Hirschsprung's disease is very rare - in less than 0.5% of cases. Without special studies in gastroenterology, it is impossible to diagnose it.
Nonspecific ulcerative colitis in a child
This is a disease in which inflammatory processes develop in the rectum within one to two years. The process is accompanied by indigestion, frequent belching and nausea after a heavy meal. The most vulnerable part of the population for this disease by age is from twenty to thirty years. However, in recent years, ulcerative colitis is increasingly diagnosed in children aged five to ten years. This is due not only to a genetic predisposition, but also to completely improper nutrition, an abundance of carbonated drinks in the diet.
If the child has started bleeding from the priests, he complains of acute pain in the abdomen, the stool is intermittent - then diarrhea, then constipation - this may be ulcerative ulcerative colitis. In order to confirm doubts about the diagnosis, you should consult a gastroenterologist. He will prescribe the necessary pharmaceutical therapy and therapeutic diet, which excludes all fried, spicy, fatty dishes.
Internal bleeding in a child
This is the most dangerous condition, which very often leads to death. It doesn’t matter for what reason it has developed — internal or external trauma. It is enough that the blood flows in a thin stream from the rectum - an ambulance should be called urgently. In children, death from blood loss occurs much faster than in adults.
Also, blood can begin to flow from the throat or stand out from the mouth - this indicates an injury or crack in one of the upper intestines. This is also a reason to consult a doctor as soon as possible.
Prevention of blood from the anus in a child
So, let's continue. Parents often turn to doctors in a panic if the child is cocking and blood is on the pope. This condition is really dangerous, but most often it is associated with malnutrition and lifestyle. Simple rules of prevention should be followed in order to avoid such health problems in a child:
- Fiber must be present in the diet - fresh vegetables, fruits, bran. To prevent constipation, beets and broccoli should be included in the daily diet.
- Drink enough water - this will ensure normal stools and the absence of constipation, together with dietary adjustments.
- Carefully watch that during the games the baby does not put a part from toys, nuts, seeds and other small and sharp objects into his mouth or airways.
- Once a quarter, conduct a blood test and an ultrasound of the internal organs, if there is a suspicion of the development of pathologies of the organs of the gastrointestinal department.