Abdominal cramps in a child can be a sign of overeating, poor intestinal motility, physical fatigue, and a malfunction of the nervous system. Pain is usually combined with diarrhea and vomiting.
The term "stomach pain" is used to refer to all types of cramps that the child experiences in the upper abdomen. Sometimes the pain is localized below. They can be acute and chronic.
Understanding what caused the child to cramp will help alleviate his suffering and provide him with comfort.
Why does the stomach ache in very young children, preschool children and adolescents?
What causes abdominal cramps? The reasons for the child may be different. Much depends on age. Pain in the stomach in a child at 1 year old is identical to that in adults. A rare exception is the presence of a baby gallstone disease.
Pain in the abdomen of a 3-year-old child is often caused by the presence of acute appendicitis, peritonitis, or diverticulitis.
Abdominal cramps in a 5-year-old child may be of a functional nature. They are not associated with pathological changes in the digestive tract or a malfunction of other organs. You can compare these pains with migraines in adults.
What can cause abdominal cramps in primary school children? The reasons for a child of 8 years are the presence of diseases that occur in a chronic form. For example, it can be gastritis, gastroduodenitis, pancreatitis.
The diet of a child in preschool age is already similar to an adult. The kid owns a spoon and a fork, has food preferences. Many attend kindergarten.
With cramping at 6 years of age, a suspected gastrointestinal disease is considered last. Causes such as enterovirus, dysentery, or helminthic invasion come to the fore. In some cases, they may indicate problems in the kidneys and liver.
According to the observation of many pediatricians, it is not so often to hear complaints from a child of 3 years about abdominal pain. Sometimes parents do not believe their child, thinking that he does not want to go to kindergarten. Of course, there are such cases, but children are not always telling lies.
A spasm of the abdomen of a 3-year-old child can be both acute and chronic. Often the first case occurs. This condition in medicine is called "acute abdomen." In the vast majority of cases, the presence of intestinal infection or acute intestinal obstruction is established.
A distinctive feature of chronic pain is often recurring colic. The main causes of this condition can serve as a violation of the gastrointestinal tract of a functional nature. At the age of 3 to 6 years, dysbiosis and chronic constipation are common. One of the leading causes is damage to the stomach by worms.
Colic in infants
Colic occurs in infants up to six months. They can be described as inexplicable cramps in the abdomen, which infants periodically experience almost from the very birth.
Such pains are diagnosed in 20% of babies. Besides the fact that the pains are stable, children with similar spasms suffer from stool and gas fastening. This is the reaction of the child's body to improperly selected food or poor-quality food.
Colic can also be a signal of intolerance to milk sugar contained in mother's milk. The reason may be that the baby is breast-fed. The vast majority of children cope with this problem after 4 months.
Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease
This disease is often observed in infants. The disease provokes severe abdominal cramps in the child, which cause crying. As a rule, this condition is observed periodically. If you have a suspicion of this disease, then you should contact a pediatrician who will recommend the necessary tests to confirm the diagnosis.
The presence of gastritis
Gastritis is called inflammation of the gastric mucosa. It proceeds both in acute and in chronic form.
The disease can be caused by eating spicy foods, chronic vomiting, stress, malnutrition, or the use of certain medications, such as Aspirin or other anti-inflammatory medications.
If gastritis is not treated in a child, then it can lead to the development of stomach cancer.
Constipation
Constipation is often the cause of severe pain in the baby’s stomach. They appear suddenly and pass just as quickly.
Such abdominal cramps in a child (2 years) are observed with an independent trip to the potty. Often, babies suffer from constipation if the act of defecation is carried out at a reflex level at the request of adults, and not from nature.
Pain with constipation is concentrated in the left abdomen. An additional symptom is nausea. Increasing fiber intake and drinking will help the child cope with this ailment.
Food allergy
Cramps can cause food, which the child is allergic to. Such a painful reaction of the body can cause ordinary meat, fish, smoked foods, citrus fruits, eggs and chocolate.
As a rule, with an allergy, a rash appears on the skin of the child. It can be dry or wet. During diathesis, small bubbles form, which are very itchy.
Allergies can cause diarrhea, cramping, nausea, and even vomiting. Often, dysbiosis is formed, which causes the appearance of a loose or strong stool. Food allergies can cause a runny nose, bronchospasm, and cough.
Stomach upset
Abdominal cramps, gurgling, and severity usually accompany diarrhea in children. Diarrhea can be caused by viruses and bacteria, as well as the result of food poisoning and the presence of worms.
Helminthic invasion
Pinworms can cause stomach cramps. This condition is observed if the infection has developed too deeply. Abdominal pain during helminthic invasion is accompanied by bloating and abundant gas. This condition can cause cramps and upset stomach.
A spasm of the abdomen in a child of 6 years can be caused by roundworms. Woven into lumps, helminths can cause intestinal obstruction. As a result, the child’s appetite disappears, weight decreases, the temperature rises periodically, nausea, vomiting with an admixture of bile appears , the head is often sore, sleep is disturbed, fears and nervousness appear. Roundworms can cause severe cramping in the biliary tract, provoke the development of purulent cholecystitis and liver abscess.
Ascaridosis can affect a child in preschool age. Helminth larvae penetrate the baby's body, even with intrauterine development. They enter it through the placenta of an infected mother. Ascaris ripens in the small intestine. The length of helminths reaches 30 cm.
If you suspect that your child has worms, you should take an analysis and determine what kind of helminths bother him. For each type of parasite, different treatment methods are used.
Enterovirus
This is a so-called rotavirus infection or intestinal flu. The infection enters the digestive tract. More often, children from six months to 2 years old get this flu. Rotavirus can be transmitted through food and dairy products, as well as by contact through infected toys, underwear and household items.
Incubation of influenza is 1-2 days, less than a week. The onset of the disease is acute, symptoms reach their maximum after 12-24 hours.
The main complaints of children include mild abdominal cramps. Often a rumbling is heard from him. Sometimes he swells. Within 2 days, the body temperature rises. Loss of appetite, frequent urge to vomit. Within 3-6 days, the baby's stool is liquid, looking like foam. Symptoms such as a runny nose and cough may also appear.
Intestinal flu is more susceptible to children who are breast-fed.
Indigestion
Abdominal cramps in a child, aggravated by a deep breath of the baby, occur, as a rule, with diarrhea. They are classified as intensive by doctors.
The disorder can cause the consumption of excessive amounts of food, excessive drinking of carbonated drinks or juices.
Anxiety and stress
Neurological stomach cramps are most common in children aged 5 to 10 years. These pains can be compared with the flight of butterflies in the stomach. The symptoms for a nervous breakdown are the same as for diarrhea.
A child’s suffering from this type of pain can last for hours. Often he sits for a long time in the toilet for relief.
Stomach cramps caused by stress tend to disappear with the elimination of the source of irritation of the nervous system. It is also possible that the importance of the traumatic event has decreased for the child.
Urinary tract infection
Stomach cramps can be caused by a urinary tract infection. As a rule, such pains are intense. Additional symptoms are frequent painful urges to urinate. Such infections can cause nausea, chills, and vomiting. If you suspect this disease, you should consult a doctor.
Appendicitis
When a child feels severe cramping, the presence of appendicitis is not excluded. It should be noted that the disease is a rare cause of spasms, but, of course, belongs to the category of the most dangerous.
If you suspect the presence of appendicitis, you should immediately contact a specialist.
Cramps caused by appendicitis may intensify within a few hours. The pains are concentrated in the lower right side of the abdomen, as well as in its middle. Appendicitis provokes the appearance of vomiting, nausea and chills.
Who should I contact if I suspect a serious illness?
Which doctor should I contact if my child has stomach cramps? In the presence of such a phenomenon, it is advised to go to the pediatrician or gastroenterologist. It is necessary to conduct appropriate examinations, to do analyzes. Only a doctor can determine the cause of this condition and prescribe the desired course of treatment.
When to seek help from a doctor?
Most cramps are caused by a normal buildup of gas, but there are times when the pain in the stomach is intense and causes nausea, diarrhea, and fever. In this case, ignoring this state is simply unacceptable.
It is necessary to consult a doctor in the following cases:
- pain in the child’s stomach is intense, it does not go away for 2 hours;
- discomfort aggravated by sudden movements;
- colic is common;
- cramping cause fever;
- colic caused a rash on the skin, the child has a pale face;
- pain leads to vomiting with an admixture of blood or secretions of a greenish color;
- the child has black stripes in the feces;
- the child experiences pain during urination;
- the child complains of sharp cramps in all areas of the abdomen.
What measures should be taken before visiting a doctor?
There are a number of measures that help relieve abdominal cramps in a child:
- You should ask the child to lie down for 20 minutes, lay him on his back and bend his knees. This is the best posture for relieving stomach cramps.
- It is advised to attach a bottle of hot water wrapped in a towel or a heated bag of salt to the stomach. So you can alleviate the condition of the child.
- You can give your child a drink of clean water, but you should be careful. The child should not take the liquid too much and quickly. This can increase pain and cause vomiting.
- Gently and slowly massage the baby’s stomach in a clockwise direction. It follows the direction of the digestive system. This manipulation will help reduce cramping.
- Give your child tea with lemon, which should be sweetened with a couple of teaspoons of honey. Such a drink helps to relax the contracting muscles. Weak ginger tea is also highly effective in relieving cramping. But most children refuse to drink it because of the specific smell and taste.
- Invite the child to go to the toilet. Sitting on the toilet is a great way to get rid of excess gas accumulated.
Important information
Can I use medications myself to relieve the condition of the child? Abdominal cramps are not recommended to be treated independently. Do not give your child any medications. It is dangerous to eliminate abdominal cramps in a child without consulting a specialist. Laxatives can aggravate pain, disrupt the digestive tract. Painkillers can mask serious symptoms and make the diagnosis of the disease incorrect.