Digestive Problems in Children

Digestion is a biological process by which the complex molecules of food substances are broken down into simple ones so that valuable nutrients present in them can readily get absorbed into your body. As long as the digestive system is functioning normally, your child is healthy. Any abnormality in its functioning can lead to some minor or major digestive problems in children. Small children are prone to them mainly because their overall digestive system is not very matured.

Common Digestive Problems in Children

Digestive problems are triggered by wrong foods, wrong eating habits, infection, exposure to toxins and so on. The most common among them are given below:

Constipation: In this condition, children have infrequent bowel movements. Its symptoms are hard stools which are difficult to pass. Stool withholding, lack of fiber in diet, side effects of medicines are the most common causes of constipation. Constipation in children can be relieved and regular bowel movements is restored by including lots of fiber-rich foods in their diet.

Diarrhea: Diarrhea in children is mostly triggered by bacterial or viral infection. It can be a symptom of an undetected disease of the digestive system. It is identified with watery stools 3 or more number of times in a day, abdominal pain, nausea, bloating, dehydration, etc. Diarrhea can be acute or chronic. In acute cases, these symptoms last for one or two days. On the other hand, chronic diarrhea is more serious and persist for several days. Here the treatment involves replenishment of lost fluids with the help of rehydrating solution and avoiding all such foods that causes stomach irritation.

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS): This can be described as abnormal functioning of the bowel. Due to this abnormality, the intestines fail to contract properly to promote bowel movements. As a result, one gets diarrhea and constipation alternately. Irritable bowel syndrome makes the intestine highly sensitive towards gas and causes abdominal pain, cramps, bloating, etc. Irritable bowel syndrome in children cannot be cured completely, but its symptoms can be checked with the help of suitable medicines and dietary changes.

Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome: This can be described as a sudden bout of excessive vomiting that last for a few hours or days. It tends to recur after a short period of time. The characteristic and duration of each episode of vomiting syndrome remains same. The exact cause of this digestive problem is still not clearly known. Its treatment includes medicines for controlling vomiting and nausea, and adequate rest and sleep.

Gastrooesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD): This is a condition where the stomach acids back flow into the esophagus and causes a lot of irritation there. A small amount of acid released into the esophagus is a common occurrence in both adults and children, and does not cause any harm. However, when too much of acid get into the esophagus then its lining get damaged and causes a lot of discomfort. Heartburn, sore throat, nausea, vomiting, swallowing difficulty, wheezing are some of the commonly observed symptoms of acid reflux disease. Treatment depends on the severity of the symptoms. Sometimes, following a GERD diet can bring about improvement in condition and in other cases medicines are needed to control acid production in stomach.

Common Digestive Problems in Infants

Colic, food allergies, lactose intolerance and acid reflux are the digestive problems found in infants. Colic is found in small babies who are less than 3 months old. This happens mainly in those babies who are more sensitive towards intestinal gas. In this condition, the baby cries continuously for several hours in a day, particularly in the evening time. The symptoms that you notice while the baby cries are swollen abdomen, tensed legs that are drawn towards the body, hands clenched and her face turns red. Infant acid reflux mainly occurs when the baby drinks too much of milk or drink fast. Sometime, excessive crying or coughing can also cause back flow of acid from the stomach. It can be identified with frequent spitting out, vomiting, lack of appetite, irritability, etc. These problems can be tackled by bringing about changes in feeding techniques and habits of the baby.

In some infants, do not have the digestive enzyme lactase that breaks down the lactose present in milk and dairy products. As a result, they get nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain every time they consume dairy products. Some infants are allergic towards certain foods. It can be milk, soy products, peanuts and so on. If they are exposed to such foods then their body respond to it abnormally and causes diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and so on. Food allergies and food intolerance are two such digestive problems which continue throughout the life and one has to avoid the food that causes allergy or intolerance.

As you can see most of the digestive problems in children can be controlled with the help of suitable diet and medicines. However, do not try any home treatment for these problems without consulting your pediatrician.