Pain in the navel in children - what parents should know

Pain in the navel area is quite an alarming symptom, in the event of which it is necessary to closely monitor the child and immediately get medical help if you feel unwell. The most important thing that parents should know and always remember is not to put a heating pad on their belly and not to give the child painkillers (except for no-shpah) 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. In case of pain symptoms it is necessary to try to find out from the child how long the stomach has become ill and how much pain is felt. If the crumb is still very small and can not answer such questions, it is necessary to observe him - whether the kid is playing or he is trying to lie down and take a comfortable position (for example, curled up). To suspect a pain in the abdomen of the first years of life, it is possible to cry for an unreasonable at first glance, refusal to eat and pushing the legs to the stomach, especially if these symptoms continue for some time, and parents can not distract the baby in the usual ways.

Sharp pain in the navel requires urgent help! It is necessary, as soon as possible, to show the child to the doctor in order to exclude surgical problems (appendicitis, intestinal obstruction or invagination), in which procrastination is fatal. Sometimes parents do not want to immediately call an ambulance and hospitalize a child, arguing that "surgeons would only be cut". In fact, if the doctors who come to the call are sure that there are no surgical pathologies, the child will not even have to go to the hospital. And if there are any doubts, in the hospital the doctor will carefully examine the child, prescribe the necessary tests and examinations, and only then will the decision be made whether the operation is necessary. Immediately from the ambulance to the operating table you can only get in the most neglected cases, as a rule, just when the parents tried to cope with the abdominal pain in the child's own forces for several days.

With such a common disease as appendicitis, the child often complains about pain in the navel, rather than in the right side, as many adults are used to thinking. It is with appendicitis that heat applied to the stomach can several times accelerate the inflammatory process and very quickly lead to the development of serious complications. Therefore, all kinds of warmers and compresses on the stomach before consulting a doctor should be an absolute taboo for all parents! Also, you should know 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 at the same time He obviously had a bad feeling - you can not hesitate.

If the child's pain in the navel is accompanied by a stomach disorder (diarrhea), vomiting and / or vomiting and an increase in temperature, then it can be assumed that this is an intestinal infection. If the baby is not too disturbed, treatment can be done at home, but if vomiting and diarrhea are too strong and the child loses a lot of fluids, 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 in bed (if he does not want to lie, let him play quiet games, watch cartoons or read a book);

- it is possible to give a child no-shpu in the age-related dosage - this is the only medicine that can be given without consulting a doctor. In addition, no-shpa 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 does not have a surgical pathology. But if after the reception of no-shpa there is no improvement in health, this is no reason to delay the call of a doctor or an ambulance;

- to measure the child's temperature and carefully examine the skin (sometimes with stomach pain , such childhood infections as chickenpox, scarlet fever and measles begin);

- observe the frequency and consistency of the stool;

- Feed the baby in very small portions and only if he asks, try to drink more, especially at temperature, diarrhea and vomiting (literally on a sip to not provoke a vomitive reflex) ;

- if in an hour the child does not feel better, call an ambulance or an ambulance (if the baby is clearly ill - then you need to call an ambulance right away).