Colic is a very common and not the most pleasant phenomenon in the life of a newborn. Usually, parents do their best to alleviate the condition of the baby.

How do you know if a baby has colic? Experienced parents can usually identify this process without difficulty. And what about young new parents?

What is colic

The concept of "Colic" from the Greek language literally translates as pain in the gut. Colic is called pain in the intestines in somatically healthy babies.

Usually such painful sensations are caused by the accumulation of gases in the intestines. They cause spasms of the smooth muscles of the intestine, which leads to bouts of pain.

Unpleasant sensations are episodic and can last up to 3 hours in a row.

The main causes of colic

In order to help the baby and eliminate colic, you need to roughly imagine the reasons for which they occur. This can at least to some extent help prevent their occurrence.

The most common causes of colic are:

  • insufficient maturity of the digestive system;
  • dysbacteriosis;
  • ingestion of acid secreted by the stomach into the esophagus (this process is also called gastroesophageal reflux);
  • sensitivity of newborns to environmental factors;
  • negative psychological attitude of a young mother during breastfeeding;
  • non-compliance with the rules of feeding (due to the incorrect position of the body or head, the baby swallows air along with mother's milk);
  • the baby has lactose intolerance;
  • migraine in newborns.

Knowing the reasons, you can quickly understand how to help and alleviate the condition of the child.

But before rushing to help, it is necessary to determine that the baby really has colic. After all, the crying of a child can be caused by numerous other reasons.

colic symptoms

Recognizing colic is quite easy, they are usually accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • The baby goes into bouts of crying - long, loud, literally heartbreaking.
  • It is almost impossible to calm the baby while crying. The most acute attacks of painful colic occur in the first month of life.
  • Another important sign is that during the rest of the day the child looks healthy, calm and cheerful, consumes food with appetite.
  • Colic often appears at the same time, usually in the evening.
  • The knees of newborns are instinctively pressed against the tummy.
  • The child's tummy is swollen, tight and tight to the touch.
  • The baby can spit up food, because during colic it intensively pushes, grunts and strains.
  • The kid refuses the offered food.
  • The face of the newborn becomes red.
  • With each bout of fighting, the baby arches, knocks on the air with arms and legs.

Methods for getting rid of colic

There is no generally accepted way to eliminate colic. The intensity and duration of colic is different for each baby, therefore, therapy can be individualized.

  • Perform a light massage of the baby's tummy 15 minutes after eating.
  • Performing gymnastics: press the child's legs to the tummy, use the "bike" exercise.
  • If the attacks are very acute and additional methods do not help, you can resort to using a gas outlet tube.

Medical therapy

The leaders in effectiveness in getting rid of colic are:

  • Probiotics: Lactobacteril, Linex, Acepol, Probifor, etc.
  • Simethicone-based laxatives: Bobotik, Smecta, Espumizan, etc.
  • Sedatives for babies: Phenibut, Pantogam, Anvifen. The baby's mother is recommended to use valerian, chamomile or motherwort.
  • If colic is provoked by dysbacteriosis, Probifor, Bifikol, Atsilakt, etc. can be prescribed to the child.
  • Means for reducing gas formation: Gaviscon, Milikon.
  • Enzymes to improve the functioning of the digestive tract: Creon, Lactazar.
  • When the cause of colic is acid reflux, Nizatadine, Ranitidine, Famotidine are usually prescribed.

You can also eliminate the manifestations of colic with the help of folk remedies. So, decoctions of fennel, dill and anise are well suited for this purpose.

To determine the exact cause of colic, it is necessary to undergo a thorough examination with the baby. Engage in self-diagnosis, as well as self-treatment is unacceptable.

Adjustment of the diet of a nursing mother

Often the cause of acute colic in the intestines of newborns is malnutrition of the mother. If the baby suffers from pain in the tummy, the mother should reconsider her diet.

So, it is permissible to eat the following foods and dishes:

  • cereal-based cereals;
  • green tea;
  • dried fruit compote (unsweetened);
  • unrefined vegetable oils;
  • cheese without spices;
  • bran bread;
  • lean meat;
  • stewed, boiled or baked vegetables;
  • biscuits and crackers;
  • still mineral water;
  • butter (in small quantities).

Mom should consume certain foods with caution, carefully monitoring the reaction of the baby. These include:

  • bananas, apples, raw vegetables;
  • pasta;
  • muffins and pastries;
  • cabbage;
  • strong tea and coffee;
  • legumes;
  • eggs;
  • raisin;
  • garlic;
  • ice cream, dairy products;
  • grape.

The following list of products for use by a nursing mother is strictly prohibited:

  • alcohol;
  • canned food;
  • margarine, mayonnaise;
  • semi-finished products;
  • smoked meats, pickles;
  • condensed milk;
  • chocolate.

To avoid and maximally alleviate colic in a newborn, you should follow a few not too complicated recommendations:

  1. Don't let your little one overeat. In children who eat greedily, colic is much more common.
  2. Immediately before the feeding process, it is worth letting the baby lie on the tummy.
  3. After eating, you need to give the child the opportunity to burp the air that he swallowed with food. For this baby, you need to hold it for some time in the position of the column (vertically leaning against the shoulder of an adult);
  4. An adult can place his palm on the baby's tummy and make pressure movements as accurately as possible. This can contribute to the discharge of gases that torment the newborn.
  5. As often as possible, it is worth carrying the child in an upright position (in arms, in a sling, in a special backpack). Thus, conditions are created that remotely resemble the maternal womb so familiar to the baby. It is quite possible that the baby will calm down, being next to a loved one, and new unfamiliar views that open up will distract the child from pain. Also in this position, a certain angle of pressure on the tummy is provided, which is also able to stop the pain.
  6. A nursing mother should be more attentive to her diet and exclude from it all foods that contribute to the formation of gases in newborns.
  7. In some cases, it is worth contacting a breastfeeding specialist. It is possible that the cause of colic was improper attachment of the baby to the breast.
  8. If the baby is breastfed, all formula preparation instructions must be carefully followed to prevent the baby from overeating.

You can use special anti-colic nipples for bottles. If necessary, consult a pediatrician for the selection of the optimal mixture for feeding the baby.

When is the help of a doctor required?

Sometimes colic is accompanied by additional disturbing symptoms. In no case should they be ignored, it is necessary to immediately invite a doctor to the newborn. These are the signs:

  • the child has a high temperature;
  • stool problems: atypical color, smell, or texture;
  • the baby cannot calm down for too long;
  • colic accompanied by profuse vomiting;
  • the baby is pale and lethargic, weakly reacts to what is happening around;
  • after the cessation of the attack of colic, the baby still has a painful appearance.
  • parents have taken all possible measures to get rid of colic, but the pain still does not go away for a long time.

Colic is a physiological state of the body of a newborn, which is quite often manifested in most babies.

Parents of children who suffer from pain in the tummy should learn more about the nature of colic and methods for their elimination.

And most importantly - you should be patient and remember that colic will most likely pass by 3 months, and possibly earlier.

Useful video

Many will agree that understanding another person is a real art. And if this is a very small man who does not know how to talk at all, then the task becomes more complicated many times over. In this case, understanding is a vital necessity. What will help determine what exactly hurts the baby?

How to understand that the baby has a sore throat

Watching your baby, you can notice a deterioration in sleep, refusal of food and piercing crying when swallowing. If these symptoms occur, you should examine the throat of your crumbs. The inflammatory process in the throat causes a change in the color of the mucous membrane - the redder the baby's throat, the stronger the inflammation and pain. You should seek qualified medical help, because a sore throat can be one of the symptoms of a serious illness.

How to understand that the baby has an earache

Unusual behavior of the child can indicate pain in the ear: prolonged crying; sometimes fever; refusal to feed; cannot fall asleep for a long time, while trying to settle down on the pillow as comfortably as possible. To clarify the situation, you should lightly press on the tragus (parts of the auricle that protrude above the lobe). If the baby reacts restlessly or starts to cry, then this indicates problems with the ears. Often this happens after the transfer of serious diseases or viral infections.

How to understand that the baby has a headache

Quite often, a headache in a newborn is associated with getting used to new conditions. In turn, such habituation may be accompanied by intracranial pressure. Headache not associated with adaptation may indicate pathological processes in the cranium. Outwardly, the baby shows such pain with a loud long cry, crying. At the same time, the baby can sip his hands to the head and tug at his hair. With such symptoms, it is important to immediately show the child to a neurologist. The doctor may prescribe a brain examination to detect pathologies. It is worth paying attention to children's headaches, because in the future, because of this, there may be serious consequences associated with physical and mental development.

How to understand that the baby has a stomach ache

Babies quite clearly show their pain in the abdomen: they pull their legs up to it; refuse breast or mixture; they behave irritably and cry loudly, not calming down for a long time. If you notice the appearance of pain immediately after feeding, then most likely this indicates the accumulation of gases; the abdomen increases, becomes round and hard (when probing). To relieve pain, you can stroke the baby's tummy clockwise; alternately press the legs to the tummy and straighten them. With artificial feeding, the appearance of an unpleasant odor from the mouth of a baby, frequent loose stools, most likely indicates the occurrence of dysbacteriosis. In this case, it is recommended to change the mixture and consult a pediatrician.
It is strictly forbidden to independently establish a diagnosis and give an infant any medication without a doctor's prescription!

Remember that restless behavior and anxiety symptoms that occur in an infant are simply bound to attract your attention. Love, patience and tender care will help parents learn to better understand their child.

In young children up to 1 year - 2 years old it is very difficult to understand that the head hurts or something else. At this age, the child will not be able to tell his parents about the deterioration of health, children can only be capricious, scream and cry, attracting attention to themselves.

Babies may ask to be picked up more often than usual, and babies can literally “hang” on their chests. Such restless behavior should alert parents. Be sure to touch the child's forehead to make sure that there is no need to take the temperature with a thermometer. If the parents suspect that the child has something in pain, it is better to go to the pediatrician, who will help to find out the cause of the restless behavior.

By itself, from a year to 3 years, it does not pose any danger, only if it is not accompanied by any other symptoms. High fever, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, blanching, increased heart rate - the presence of one of these symptoms, combined with a severe headache, is a reason for urgent medical attention. Only a doctor can correctly diagnose the disease in a baby and decide what to do to get rid of all these symptoms. First of all, you need to contact a pediatrician, and he, in turn, can refer you to a narrower specialist, if necessary.

What measures can be taken?

If a child complains that he is tormented by headaches, this should not be ignored. Of course, a baby can complain only closer to 3 years old, until this age he can only show with his appearance that something hurts him. You need to make sure that the body temperature is not elevated, for this you can touch your forehead and measure with a thermometer. When headaches are combined with a symptom such as high fever, medication is indispensable. Pills and medicines should be appropriate for the age of the baby. can only be in the permitted dosage.


You can try to eliminate the pain without medication. You need to let the child lie down and relax in a cool room or even sleep. Compresses on the head help well, but you need to be able to do them. It is easier for children up to a year to make compresses, since the baby can be swaddled so that he does not throw off the compress. But you can also negotiate with older children - they already understand what exactly their parents are telling them. It is necessary to collect cool water or room temperature in a bowl, moisten gauze folded several times, and put on the forehead. You can make such compresses for a long time, there will be no damage to health from them. Even if the temperature is elevated, they can help a lot. You can make compresses using essential oils of mint or lemon balm, but only after making sure that they do not cause allergies.

Why does my stomach hurt

Before trying to determine the cause of pain, it is necessary to find out how intense they are, where they are localized. With severe pain, babies, as a rule, prefer to lie down, taking not very comfortable positions. They turn and stand up, while the children are very careful, slowly. The symptom may be acute (dagger pain), dull aching or stabbing.

A separate topic is abdominal pain in babies during the first six months of life. Infant colic is a recurring bout of baby crying that disturbs the baby's sleep, while he pulls his legs up to his tummy and emits gases.

The exact cause of infant colic is unknown. But when the gastrointestinal tract readjusts to a new way of eating (through the mouth rather than the umbilical cord), stress is inevitable. To alleviate the condition of the crumbs, first of all, you need to adjust the climate in the children's bedroom. Perhaps he is crying because, due to the heat and dry air, he has lost a lot of water, and the feces have become too thick.

You need to understand that "stomach hurts" is not a diagnosis, but only a symptom. There can be no universal cure for this ailment until we know exactly what is causing it. However, there are a few general guidelines that everyone should follow.

1. A common folk remedy is a heating pad on the stomach.

But in some cases it can be very dangerous. For example, if the cause of the pain is appendicitis, then overheating can lead to a rupture of the inflamed appendix.

Therefore, it is better not to use a heating pad until your doctor prescribes it2. The most comfortable position for abdominal pain is on your side with your legs tucked in.

If a baby under one year old is ill, he will be best in his mother's arms3. Sometimes, in order to understand the cause of abdominal pain, it is enough to pass a simple urine test.

A urinary tract infection can also produce this symptom4. Previously, with abdominal pain, everyone was given an enema.

A number of conditions have now been discovered where such treatment can only do harm. Therefore, it is not worth abusing this remedy at home without a doctor's prescription.

So, abdominal pain is a non-specific, vague diagnosis. You can not prescribe a medicine until the doctor determines its cause. However, parents have many ways to avoid this pain and help with home remedies without resorting to medicine.

1. Colic

Colic in the abdomen of a newborn is a classic explanation for pain. It happens after eating. When a newborn's tummy hurts due to colic, crying and spasms suddenly begin. The cry is loud and continuous, lasting from 1 to 4 hours.

The baby's face turns red, the legs are tucked up to the body and cool to the touch, the arms are clenched into fists. Episodes of infant colic disturb at any time, more often at night, which further exhausts the parents.

2. Pain due to bloating

Causes of pain in a child

Having been born, a boy or girl first encounters many irritants. Everything is new for a sterile body, the organs learn to function normally on their own, without the support of the mother, so there are many reasons for discomfort and pain. Many situations can upset, annoy, hurt.

Features of physiology

Why does the baby have a tummy ache?
There are several reasons, one of which is intestinal colic and gas, but what can cause colic and gas?

If the baby has a tummy ache, he will definitely let you know about it. His legs will then be pressed against the tummy, then, on the contrary, straighten up, refusal to eat is possible. If the pain is too severe, the baby's skin may turn pale.

Of course, mothers think about the fact that the stomach of a newborn hurts - signs, reasons, what to do with this condition. First of all, you need to know the possible causes of this condition.

The first thing that can be assumed is intestinal colic. This phenomenon is not uncommon in young children, especially in the first six months. There is no specific treatment for this condition, because after a while it goes away.

But in the first year of life, there may be other causes of abdominal pain.

food allergy
. It begins to appear closer to six months, when mothers begin to introduce complementary foods. In addition to severe pain in the abdomen, a rash may appear on the body, blood is observed in the stool, weight gain is very poor. It is necessary to visit a doctor so that he can establish the cause of this condition and prescribe treatment.

Of course, parents cannot sit still and watch their baby suffer. Every caring mother wants to somehow help her baby, using the right treatment for this, but, unfortunately, not everyone knows what can be done in such cases and what not.

1. Make a special massage of the tummy, perform it only with warm hands, every time after feeding.

2. Before you start feeding, put the baby on the stomach for 10-15 minutes.

3. Immediately after feeding, put a warm diaper on the bed, and the baby on it, on the tummy. Under the influence of heat, the muscles will calm down and relax.

4. Do special exercises that your pediatrician may advise you.

It is very important to follow these simple rules. This, of course, does not mean that the pain will not bother at all, but still it will be a little easier for the child to endure it.

Despite the fact that doctors categorically forbid self-medication, it is possible, by the way the baby has a stomach ache, to determine the cause and, in a simple form, try to solve the problem without medication before the doctors arrive.

So, if the pain in an infant begins immediately after the feeding process, he begins to cry and tighten his legs, the problem may be bloating due to the accumulation of gases provoked by milk carbohydrates. Simple exercises will help to cope with this phenomenon before the doctor's visit: stroking the tummy clockwise, pressing the nights to the tummy and back. You can give dill water.

All children at different ages can have a stomach ache. The nature of the pain is completely different, ranging from dull cutting pains and ending with colic. Also, abdominal pain may be accompanied by additional symptoms, such as vomiting, fever, and dizziness. With acute pain, children clutch their stomachs, lie in one position, and cannot move normally.

So, newborn babies and babies often suffer from infant colic, which are typical for this age. A loud, crying baby who is restless and refuses to eat is trying to let his parents know that he is not feeling well.

In such cases, special preparations against colic are used or soothing herbal decoctions are used.

There are incredibly many reasons why children have a stomach ache, and they all have a different nature of origin. By carefully observing your own child, you can understand how serious the problem is.

Appendicitis

Pain in appendicitis indicates the presence of an inflammatory process of the appendix of the caecum. This problem is common in more than 50% of children aged 6-12 years.

The main symptom that indicates the presence of appendicitis is a sharp pain near the navel, which eventually moves to the right side. Vomiting, as well as periodic nausea, are possible, but optional symptoms that may accompany the inflammatory process.

Constipation is the most common cause of abdominal pain in children. The factors that provoke this disease are quite different.

In most cases, constipation is provoked by:

  • unhealthy diet;
  • sedentary lifestyle;
  • a change of scenery.

With this problem, children complain of a terrible heaviness in the abdomen, aching pain, which periodically responds throughout the gastrointestinal tract.

Poisoning

The pain can come suddenly after a heavy dinner, heavy physical exertion, illness. It happens that the cause is an infectious disease. There are many factors, as well as symptoms. Most parents have to face discomfort in the abdomen in children.

Almost all newborns before six months suffer from colic, which can be accompanied by cramps and pain in the tummy. For caring parents, it is not difficult to determine that colic became the cause of pain in this part of the body: the baby bursts into loud crying, arches his back and presses his legs to his stomach.

Remedies for colic

In infants, the most common problem is intestinal colic. They are associated with the imperfection of the baby's digestive tract and increased gas formation. This condition usually resolves after six months.

It is possible to understand that the baby is suffering from colic by such signs as prolonged crying, flexion and extension of the legs, and sometimes refusal to eat. The condition improves after passing gases, applying a warm diaper to the stomach, wearing in an upright position.

Methods of dealing with colic: diet for mom, drugs based on fennel (Plantex, Bebinos) and semiticone (Espumizan, Bobotik) for the baby.

Abdominal pain can be indicative of a variety of problems. Some we may not even be aware of. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. For example, a teenage girl may have a stomach ache due to the fact that the first period is about to come. And for a boy who overdid it yesterday at a physical education lesson, this may be the result of excessive tension in the abdominal muscles.

However, there are some of the most common reasons.

1
What can cause pain

When a baby has a stomach ache, he cannot tell about the reasons for his suffering, but his demonstrations of this condition can tell parents that it is the baby’s stomach that hurts. The most common external manifestations of such a deviation in the well-being of the baby are:

  • squeezing and sharp straightening of the legs;
  • body bending;
  • refusal of food;
  • irritability;
  • incessant crying.

If a baby is observed, it is more likely to be associated with. This display of symptoms is quite common in the first six months of a baby's life.

The reason for this lies in the formation of the digestive tract, adaptation to new types of nutrition. In most cases, in infants, this phenomenon goes away on its own.

Doctors advise parents during the period when abdominal pain is observed in a newborn to completely exclude fatty, fried, spicy, acidic foods from their diet. You should not consume a lot of coffee and sweet pastries or other types of sweets.

If a newborn has a stomach ache, a mother who breastfeeds him should look for the cause, first of all, in herself, her diet, her daily routine. It is very important to analyze what kind of water a nursing mother drinks. In no case should you drink unboiled, carbonated water. The use of products that provoke fermentation processes, semi-finished products and food of dubious origin is also prohibited.

Child's stomach hurts

If you experience abdominal pain, you should immediately contact a specialist, call an emergency, or get to the hospital yourself. You should not take risks and self-medicate, even if grandparents and neighbors say that all children have a tummy ache, so you need to give medicine or get a massage.

In the first month of a baby's life, you should not listen to anyone's advice - only a good pediatrician will determine what hurts, tell if there are any pathologies and what to do next.

First aid

These methods will alleviate the condition or help normalize peristalsis, if it is a matter of physiology. You should not refuse medical help - pediatricians will recommend drugs, exercises, nutrition, they will tell you what to do if the newborn has pain.

Medical treatment

In the absence of pathologies, doctors recommend using special preparations to eliminate colic that normalize the work of the digestive organs. Espumizan, Simicol, Kolikid, Semiticon safely eliminate gas bubbles, split them, remove the cause of bloating and colic. There are safe preparations based on herbs: Plantex, Bebinos, Dill water, which have proven themselves well.

Folk methods

For centuries, traditional medicine has been hoarding recipes to help babies and their parents, which will help at home.

Both children and adults suffer from colic and abdominal discomfort. The mother will be able to help the newborn overcome the adaptation period by following the rules.

The medicine for abdominal pain for children should definitely be in the first-aid kit of parents. Treatment of colic and bloating involves taking light medications for the baby. Their use must be agreed with the doctor. What helps with stomach pain:

  • Disflatil;
  • Espumizan;
  • Festal;
  • Enterosgel;
  • Mezim;
  • Laktovit;
  • Linex;
  • Activated carbon;
  • No-shpa;
  • Furazolidone.

Remedies for colic

How to determine that artificial nutrition is not suitable for an infant? First of all, you should carefully observe the child and find out if he is allergic to this mixture. In addition to abdominal pain, the baby may experience symptoms such as rashes or redness on the skin, diarrhea or vomiting, and blood or purulent discharge often appears in the feces.

If parents notice at least one of these symptoms, you should immediately stop feeding this mixture and choose food from another manufacturer.

volvulus of the intestines

Another problem that can appear in infants from formula feeding is intestinal volvulus.

In young children, the equivalent of abdominal pain is screaming, crying, anxiety, refusal of food, a crouched posture with legs brought to the stomach, impulsive leg movements (“kicking legs”).

In preschool and primary school age, abdominal pain often does not have a clear localization, most often, regardless of punktum fiksum, the child localizes pain in the umbilical region.

Abdominal pain in children can be caused by both diseases of the abdominal organs and diseases of other organs and systems. Allocate abdominal pain acute and recurrent.

If the pain is not severe, does not increase and does not prevent the child from living a normal life, then you have time to assess the situation. The pediatrician may ask some questions, so it's helpful to look at the child beforehand to help determine what's causing the pain.

  • When did the pains start? A few days, weeks or months ago?
  • Is the pain severe? Does the child cry in pain?
  • Where does it hurt? In the navel or lower right?
  • How long does it hurt? Is there anything that makes the child get better or worse?
  • Does the temperature rise, is there vomiting or diarrhea?
  • Does the pain interfere with sleep at night or play during the day?
  • Does it happen only on days when you have to go to kindergarten, or at certain times of the day?
  • What is the child's appetite?
  • Is it related to some particular food or drink, such as dairy products? Or maybe after eating the pain softens or becomes stronger?
  • Is the child potty trained? Maybe the pains start when he needs to poop?
  • Does the child poop daily? Is the stool hard or liquid? Many or few? Is there any blood?
  • Did the child have any strong experiences at home or in kindergarten or a change of scenery?
  • Has there been a history of stomach or intestinal problems in the family?
  • Maybe you recently took your child on a trip or did he deal with pets?

Babies, and often one-year-old or two-year-old children, cannot tell that they have a stomachache, and to determine that the child needs to see a doctor, you will have to work as a detective. The following signs and symptoms should be taken seriously and may indicate that your child needs medical attention.

Call your doctor or make an appointment immediately if you have any of the following.

  • The child looks unhealthy.
  • His stomach hurts a lot (especially on the lower right).
  • The pain intensifies.
  • The pain does not stop for more than two hours.
  • The abdomen is swollen or painful to touch.
  • The child does not want to eat his favorite food.
  • Incessant vomiting.
  • Persistent diarrhea.
  • The stool is bloody, dark or looks like grape jelly.
  • It hurts the baby when he jumps up (this applies to older children, of course, not babies).
  • Cannot walk or walks bent over (also applies to older children).

Pain can be different, every little thing is important for doctors: when it appeared, under what circumstances, what it is, etc.

Acute pain comes on suddenly and can be intense. Children who can talk will describe it as cutting or stabbing. They take a bent position, wrap their arms around their waist and bring their legs to their stomach.

Dull pain is less intense, but prolonged. It is she who accompanies appendicitis.

Diseases of the kidneys, bladder, and lungs can cause abdominal pain. So, with pyelonephritis, urolithiasis and cystitis, not only the stomach hurts, but also the inguinal region. The pain may radiate to the leg.

Pneumonia can also be accompanied by pain in the abdomen, but the symptoms of the underlying disease still come first.

The actions of parents should depend on the general condition of the child.

If he is concerned only with abdominal pain, there are no other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, fever, clouding of consciousness, convulsions, then the child should be observed. Perhaps it will be enough to go to the toilet and the pain will stop.

First of all, parents should decide on the tactics of further treatment and the condition that they observe in the child:

  1. If we are talking about colic, constipation and other conditions that do not require urgent medical intervention, it is necessary to give the child special antispasmodic or laxatives and further monitor the child's condition.
  2. When parents are not sure that abdominal pain is a harmless digestive disorder, it is not recommended to use painkillers until the arrival of an ambulance or self-referral to a doctor. The fact is that they can blur the clinical picture of the disease and create the effect of an imaginary recovery.

The main measures to prevent abdominal pain are:

  1. Choosing a good formula for feeding your baby. Promotion of breastfeeding, which excludes the development of foodborne infection.
  2. Proper and timely introduction of complementary foods.
  3. Compliance with hygiene in cooking and sufficient heat treatment.
  4. Compliance with the principles of proper and rational nutrition - an excess of sweet, fried, fatty and becomes a frequent cause of discomfort in the abdomen.
  5. Timely access to a doctor and treatment for gastritis, cholecystitis and pancreatitis in a chronic form of the course.
  6. Explaining to the child the principles of personal hygiene, as well as the need to visit the toilet regularly. If there is no chair, then the baby needs to be explained that this should be reported to adults.
  7. Passage of regular preventive examinations, as well as the delivery of basic laboratory tests, including for the determination of helminthic invasion.
  8. Compliance with personal and sexual hygiene in adolescent girls to prevent chronic diseases of the uterine appendages, which cause pain over the age of 10 years.

Abdominal pain is the most common complaint among patients. To understand their origin, a doctor's consultation is required, because they can be the cause of a wide variety of diseases: appendicitis, overeating. ulcers, gastritis, pancreatitis and a whole list of various ailments.

To understand their origin, a doctor's consultation is required, because they can be the cause of a wide variety of diseases: appendicitis, overeating, ulcers, gastritis, pancreatitis, and a whole list of all kinds of ailments.

There are two types of pain - somatic and visceral. Somatic is the result of irritation of the walls of organs (nerve endings), for example, due to spasms. stretching. Visceral is due to colic. Most often, it can be recognized by a dull, pulling pain. which is given to various organs, for example, the lower back.

Most often, periodic pains in the lower abdomen indicate a chronic disease, so you should immediately consult a doctor, even an experienced specialist cannot always determine the cause the first time, and self-medication in this case will only worsen the condition.

Somatic pain in the abdomen is always localized, has a cutting, acute character, aggravated by movement and breathing. It is difficult for the patient to move, because every action is accompanied by an attack.

“The child has a stomach ache” is one of the most common complaints when contacting a pediatrician. And in how many cases with abdominal pain in a child do not go to the doctor.

Every child may one day complain that his stomach hurts. Pain can be caused by a trivial cause that does not pose a great danger, or it can be a sign of a serious illness that requires immediate and drastic action.

Therefore, it is very important to understand exactly where the stomach hurts and how it hurts.

Abdominal pain in a young child

It is impossible to imagine a kid who would grow up without once complaining that his tummy hurts. Every mother has faced this problem. But before you run to the doctor, you need to find out how we can help the baby at home.

First, ask your child to describe what hurts, where and how. He can stab in the side or cut in the groin. Unpleasant sensations are constant or appear periodically. The nature of the pain can also be different:

  • acute
  • stupid
  • spasms
  • cutting
  • stabbing
  • pulsating

Sometimes abdominal pain is accompanied by fever. Most often, this is a signal that we have caught an intestinal infection.

But these symptoms can also be accompanied by a common infection. For example, with a virus such as mononucleosis, lymph nodes increase. This may be accompanied by pain in the abdomen.

The famous pediatrician Yevgeny Komarovsky claims that an accurate diagnosis can only be made in a hospital.

However, he reports that our system of medicine does not allow parents to use the services of doctors every time they need it. Therefore, he teaches adults to help children at home when possible: “There is a major symptom that determines the intensity of parental fuss. Everyone can remember it.

In the vast majority of cases, when a child explains where his stomach hurts, he points to the navel area. The farther his hand is from the navel, the faster you need to run to the doctor. Especially if it hurts somewhere in the side, but it is also a sharp pain. Because this is an unusual situation. Non-dangerous pains in the abdomen are distinguished by the fact that they are moderate and do not prevent the child from moving.

Here are a few situations in which you cannot treat the stomach yourself, but you need to urgently seek the help of a doctor.

  • if the pain is not localized in the navel
  • if it lasts longer than a day
  • if the pain is accompanied by pallor of the skin, perspiration
  • if the baby is lethargic, drowsy, does not eat or drink
  • if you find blood in your stool
  • if the baby is vomiting, while the vomit is yellow, green or black; if they contain blood
  • if the baby complains of difficult, painful urination
  • if abdominal pain accompanies a rash
  • if the pain in boys is localized in the groin and testicles, or their swelling is detected
  • if it is recurring episodes of pain with diarrhea for more than three days or vomiting for more than a day

Serious medicines for abdominal pain can only be prescribed by a doctor. We can only try to help with home remedies.

First of all, you need to establish when the baby was last in the toilet. If the cause is constipation, then lactulose syrup or glycerin suppositories can be used.

Until the diagnosis is established, the baby should not be overfed. Give food only after his request. At the same time, these should not be pies and rolls with cream, but baked fruits, bananas, biscuit cookies, rice. Dairy products are best avoided. Experimenting with new foods should also be postponed.

How to determine that abdominal pain is a sign of appendicitis?

Appendicitis can be difficult to diagnose, even for doctors, especially in young children, and this is one of the reasons why if a child has a stomachache and even one of these symptoms, you should immediately find out what the matter is.

Typical signs and symptoms of appendicitis: Pain begins in the navel and moves to the right lower abdomen after a few hours. If you press this area, the child cries or complains that he is in pain.

In addition, the child may have a fever, vomiting, he may refuse his favorite food. If you ask a child to jump, another symptom may come up: with appendicitis, most children (and adults, too) hurt to jump.

In young children, the expected signs and symptoms may not always be detected, especially if they are under two years of age. Call the doctor if your child has any of the symptoms listed in the answer to question 45 on the previous page, or if you think it's appendicitis.

The doctor will examine the child and may order some tests, including an ultrasound or a CT scan, to look at the appendix.

Underlying causes and defining symptoms

At the first complaints of discomfort in the abdomen, you need to listen to the child, try to determine the cause. If there are no medical skills, immediately call an ambulance. Only doctors establish the exact cause.

When we call an ambulance:

  1. The child is less than 5 years old, the pain syndrome is almost 3 hours. Accompanied by tears, whims.
  2. A rash appeared on the skin, the pain became unbearable.
  3. Diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, refusal to eat.
  4. Increased body temperature.
  5. The localization of pain is in the navel.
  6. Complete denial of food and water.
  7. He was injured, which caused pain.
  8. Weakness, loss of consciousness.
  9. The manifestation of pain began at night, the child cannot go to the toilet.
  10. The pain does not stop for almost 2 weeks, a sharp weight loss.

These are the main reasons to call an ambulance. Don't wait 2 weeks for your baby to start to lose consciousness. With prolonged pain, immediately contact a specialist, call a doctor.

What assistance should be provided to the child before the arrival of doctors

While the parent is waiting for the ambulance, first aid will be required. The pain can manifest itself in both the baby and the teenager. Help is provided based on complaints and symptoms.

Basic principles of first aid:

  • If the parents do not have a medical education, it is better to protect them from drugs before the arrival of doctors.
  • Provide plenty of drink, feed is prohibited. Drinking - non-carbonated water, saline, you can not drink juices, soda, milk.
  • Body temperature control, with an increase, a tablet is given that lowers the temperature.
  • You can not warm the sore spot. Heating pads are prohibited. This can worsen the condition, provoke inflammation.
  • If the parents are sure that this is normal swelling, it is permissible to give a medicine that relieves the spasm.
  • If constipation has developed, it is better not to do an enema until a complete diagnosis by a doctor.
  • With the appearance of sharp pains, vomiting, watery stools, the main signs of an intestinal infection are noted.

Before the arrival of the ambulance, parents can provide the necessary assistance to children. But medical, qualified will be provided only in the hospital. Do not delay calling a doctor.

How to treat stomach pain

Usually, simple childhood abdominal pain can be treated at home. With adequate bed rest and proper soldering, as well as the rejection of heavy solid foods and Aspirin, the child should be on his feet in a few days.

If the child has a temperature of 39 ˚Ϲ, give him paracetamol.

Be sure to check the dosage with your doctor.

When a newborn's stomach hurts, what can you do?

First aid

When abdominal pain appears, you need to put the child on his back, if there is vomiting, you need to turn your head to one side, bend your knees, slowly stroke your stomach clockwise - this position will help relieve spasm, reduce the manifestation of pain.

What to do if a child has a stomachache

  1. Visit a doctor, take a general analysis of blood and urine, feces, do an ultrasound, MRI, x-ray of the abdominal organs. Colonoscopy, irrigoscopy, FGS are mandatory diagnostic methods for suspected gastrointestinal pathology.
  2. Give the child an anesthetic based on paracetamol, ibuprofen, antispasmodics No-Shpa (Drotaverine) help well. But resort to medication only in extreme cases, drugs lubricate the clinical picture, it will be difficult for the doctor to quickly establish a diagnosis.
  3. With severe vomiting, diarrhea, fever, the main task of parents is to avoid dehydration. Water the child every 5 minutes in small portions, even through force, it is better to use Regidron, Oralit, ordinary water without gas.

What not to do with stomach pain

Do not rush to apply heat. If discomfort is caused by an attack of appendicitis, other infectious pathologies, then any warming procedures will only worsen the situation, cold compresses also cannot be applied without prior diagnosis.

It is forbidden to wash, try to feed the baby. With diarrhea and vomiting, you do not need to immediately give drugs to eliminate these symptoms - this is how the body tries to cleanse itself of toxins.

If abdominal pain is localized in the navel, then parents can try to help themselves as follows:

  1. put the child on a diet, exclude foods that you suspect could cause a problem;
  2. give your child plenty of non-carbonated water or special oral rehydration products;
  3. if the baby has excessive gas formation, then you can help him by giving the drug simethicone.

At first, provide the baby with rest and peace, as well as dietary nutrition that will restore strength and normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Make sure that vomiting does not recur.

If a child has a tummy ache against the background of impaired digestion, parents need to carefully monitor the diet of their child: exclude all gas-producing foods (milk, pickles, beans, bread, kvass, mushrooms) from the menu, supplement it with fiber.

What to do with the onset of an acute abdomen? First aid for pain in the stomach is to call an ambulance. Only a doctor is able to determine the cause of acute pain and choose the appropriate treatment.

Until the ambulance arrives, it is only allowed to apply an ice pack to the baby's stomach to alleviate his condition.

How to eat right

With pain in the abdomen, you need to reconsider the diet, make a correct and balanced diet for the child.

Do's and Don'ts for Stomach Pain

Otitis media, or inflammation of the ear, is common in infants. This is due to the fact that they have poorly formed ear passages and septa, through which microbes penetrate from the nasopharynx when a runny nose or sore throat appears. Sometimes milk, water can get in during bathing. All this leads to the beginning of the inflammatory process in the middle ear. Let us consider in more detail what otitis media is and how you can determine that the baby has an earache.

Otitis media is an inflammatory process in the ear. It has three main sections, an important part of which is the Eustachian tube. Connecting with the middle ear, it regulates the air pressure from the sides of the eardrums. In addition, the Eustachian tube opens and closes the passage, releasing accumulated fluid and germs.

When a child has a cold and mucus begins to accumulate in his nasal cavity, with a large accumulation through the Eustachian tube, it penetrates into the middle ear and accumulates there. This condition leads to an inflammatory process.

There are catarrhal and purulent otitis media. In the first type, the child's ears begin to hurt sharply, and with purulent mucus and pus, they press on the eardrums, causing pain. Sometimes at night, under their pressure, the membrane ruptures, and the accumulated fluid comes out, alleviating the patient's condition.

Otitis is rarely an independent disease. It occurs as a complication after a cold, SARS, with various inflammations that occur in the nasopharynx. It can occur in different ear regions - outer, inner and middle. But otitis media of the middle part of the auricle is most difficult to cure, since it gives the most complications.

Causes of otitis media in infants

The newborn and infant are most often prone to otitis media, which is due to a number of reasons.

  1. Babies produce too much mucus in their nasal cavity. The reason is that babies cry a lot, and this immediately leads to fluid accumulation.
  2. Babies who spit up freshly eaten food can clog their middle ear passages with milk.
  3. In infancy, the tubes in the ear are still short, which leads to the ingress and accumulation of fluids.
  4. Toddlers do not know how to remove the mucus accumulated in the nose on their own, so germs can easily enter the ear.

Symptoms of otitis media

Finding out that a baby is worried about inflammation and his ears hurt is not easy. But the sooner the diagnosis is established and treatment begins, the faster and with a minimum of complications recovery will come.

Any attentive parent notices that the child expresses concern, pointing to the ear, because the disease manifests itself most often with certain signs.

There are the following symptoms.

  1. The child behaves excitedly, turns his head, cries, the temperature can rise to 39 ° C and above.
  2. It is known that when sucking, the pain intensifies, so the child grabs the breast and stops eating again, turns his head and cries.
  3. For clarification, you can lightly touch the sore ear in the cartilage area, and the baby will definitely let you know about it.
  4. If purulent otitis media is observed, then after a while discharge from the auricles becomes noticeable - especially after a night's sleep, when dried pus remains.

But there are some forms of otitis that are not easy to recognize. Often mistaken with the diagnosis. Otitis is similar to intestinal dysfunction, which may be accompanied by vomiting.

Treatment of otitis media in infants

If there are signs of otitis media, you should consult a doctor. This inflammatory process cannot be treated on its own, especially in infants, as it is dangerous with complications. Other vital organs may also be affected.

Otitis media is caused by an infection that, if treated too late or incorrectly, can spread to the brain, heart, and lungs. The child may even become deaf.

With purulent otitis media, there is a risk of purulent meningitis and sinusitis, so doctors prescribe antibacterial agents. Parents, if possible, should help their baby to overcome the disease faster and alleviate his condition.

Folk remedies

You can partially stop the pain in the ear if you put dry heat on it - for example, a large cotton swab that is put in a cap.


A half-alcohol compress, which disinfects and warms, can be helpful. But it is permissible to use it only when the child's body temperature is normal. For this, warm vodka is taken, in which a small gauze cloth is wetted and applied to the ear. From above it is covered with cotton wool and a cap is put on the child for fixation. This compress is kept for no more than 2-3 hours.

There are other ways to alleviate the condition with the use of folk remedies. So, a gauze napkin should be moistened in aloe juice and put on the ear together with cotton. Many mothers use geranium leaves, which perform an analgesic function and relieve swelling.

Use of prescribed drops

For otitis media, your doctor may prescribe ear drops. But parents should not choose them themselves, but only follow the instructions and bury them correctly, observing the dosage.

The rules for instillation are as follows.

  1. You can bury the ear only with warm drops. They are heated by placing the vial in warm water.
  2. The child is placed on its side, pulling the earlobe with your fingers and opening the passage wider.
  3. Then you need to pipette the prescribed number of drops with a pipette and insert a small piece of cotton wool into the ear, covering the passage.
  4. If there is discharge from the ear, they must be removed with cotton wool, but only from the outside.
  5. If the child's body temperature is above 38 °C, it is necessary to give Nurofen in syrup or put a suppository in the anus as directed by the doctor.

Treatment of ear inflammation should not be delayed, otherwise the infection will move to the throat and nose, and will take a chronic form.

Prevention of otitis media

With proper care of the child, this disease can be avoided.

  1. You need to pay attention to his ears. They are allowed to be cleaned with ear sticks, in which there is a limiter, since it is impossible to enter them deeply.
  2. When the baby sucks at the breast, it is advisable to hold it in an upright position for some time so that the remnants of milk from the nasopharynx do not get into the ear canals.
  3. Most often, otitis media in children occurs after a runny nose, therefore, at the first sign of nasal congestion, it is necessary to start treatment using drops in the nose. When the nose is stuffed up, the child begins to sniffle, the infection goes to the ear. In order for the accumulated mucus to pass through the nose more freely, it is necessary to give the child more water to drink.