Pain in the navel is a rather alarming symptom, in the event of which it is necessary to closely monitor the child and in case of deterioration in well-being, immediately seek medical help. The most important thing that parents should know and always remember is that in no case should they apply a heating pad to their stomachs and do not give the child pain medication (with the exception of no-shp) before consulting a doctor!
Pain in the navel can be caused by a number of reasons - from overeating, intestinal infection and appendicitis to renal colic and various systemic diseases. If you experience pain symptoms, you must try to find out from the child how long the stomach got sick and how much pain is felt. If the baby is still very small and cannot answer such questions, then it is necessary to observe him - whether the baby is playing or is he trying to lie down and take a comfortable position (for example, curled up). You can suspect abdominal pain in the tots of the first years of life by crying for no reason at first glance, refusing to eat and squeezing the legs to the stomach, especially if these symptoms continue for some time, and the parents cannot distract the baby in the usual ways.
Sharp pain in the navel area requires emergency care! It is necessary to show the child to the doctor as soon as possible in order to exclude surgical problems (appendicitis, bowel obstruction or intussusception), in which procrastination is fatal. Sometimes parents do not want to immediately call an ambulance and hospitalize the child, motivating it with the fact that "surgeons would only cut it." In fact, if the doctors who arrived at the call are sure that there are no surgical pathologies, then the child will not even have to go to the hospital. And if there is any doubt, then in the hospital the doctor will carefully examine the child, prescribe the necessary tests and examinations, and only then a decision will be made on whether the operation is necessary. You can get to the operating table right from the ambulance only in the most advanced cases, as a rule, just when the parents tried to cope with the abdominal pain in the child for several days on their own.
With such a common disease as appendicitis, the child often complains of pain in the navel, and not in the right side, as many adults are used to thinking. It is with appendicitis that the heat applied to the stomach can accelerate the inflammatory process several times and very quickly lead to the development of serious complications. Therefore, all kinds of heating pads and compresses on the stomach before consulting a doctor should become the absolute taboo for all parents! You should also be aware that many processes in the child’s body develop much faster than in adults, for example, the same appendicitis can lead to peritonitis in just a day, so if the child complains of pain in the navel (right or center), and his state of health was clearly impaired - you can’t hesitate.
If a child has pain in the navel area accompanied by an upset stomach (diarrhea), nausea and / or vomiting and fever, then it can be assumed that this is an intestinal infection. If the baby's condition is not too disturbed, treatment can be carried out at home, but if vomiting and diarrhea are too strong and the child loses a lot of fluid, hospitalization may be necessary.
In any case, if the child complains of pain in the navel, parents should adhere to the following recommendations:
- put the baby to bed (if he does not want to lie, let him play calm games, watch cartoons or read a book);
- you can give your child a no-shpa in an age-appropriate dosage - this is the only medicine that can be given without consulting a doctor. In addition, no-spa helps to understand the cause of the pain - if after taking the pill it became easier, then with a high degree of probability the child has no surgical pathology. But if after taking no-shpa there is no improvement in health, this is an excuse not to delay the call of a doctor or ambulance team;
- measure the child’s temperature and carefully examine the skin (sometimes with childhood pain such infections as chickenpox, scarlet fever and measles);
- observe the frequency and consistency of the stool;
- feed the child in very small portions and only if he asks, try to drink more water, especially at temperature, diarrhea and vomiting (literally a sip, so as not to provoke a gag reflex) ;
- if after an hour the child does not feel better, call a doctor or an ambulance team (if the baby is clearly ill - then you need to call an ambulance right away).