Modern gastroenterology has come a long way. There are many diagnostic and therapeutic methods, however, gastrointestinal disorders and problems with it occupy a leading place among all diseases. Even in infancy, many babies develop problems with the gastrointestinal tract, because it is not yet fully developed. There are also anatomical and physiological features that result in frequent regurgitation, vomiting, pylorospasm, intestinal obstruction and other functional disorders.
Treatment
Many parents have encountered such a problem as intestinal inflammation in their child.
Intestinal inflammation is an inflammatory process of its mucous membranes. In other words, this disease is characterized by immune inflammation of the intestinal wall. The inflammation can be chronic. It is in one of the first places among childhood pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. The most serious diseases are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The latter occurs in 6 out of 100,000 people.
Children are more susceptible to this disease. The causes of this disease in children have not been identified. The occurrence of intestinal inflammation is most often associated with poor diet and the presence of viral infections in the body.
The first symptoms of this disease can appear in babies aged 3-5 months. The main symptoms of ulcerative colitis are the appearance of blood in the child's stool followed by diarrhea.
In older children, diarrhea occurs immediately. Chronic UC is manifested by frequent loose stools with painful spasms. Diagnosis of the disease includes palpation and rectal examination. With UC there is no bloating or pelvic floor tenderness.
With this disease, intestinal inflammation is accompanied by ulcerative formations on the mucous membranes. Ulcers can develop into fistulas. At the very beginning of the disease, a narrowing of the intestines is observed. The consequences are frequent bowel movements and abdominal pain after eating.
This is aphthous stomatitis, which is a lesion of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity; oligoarthritis of the joints; episcleritis; conjunctivitis; uveitis; formation of oxalate stones. Diagnosis of the disease includes palpation, irrigoscopy, endoscopy, colonoscopy.
Treatment of intestinal inflammation in children should be aimed at restoring the structure of the intestinal mucous membranes. Complex treatment includes diet therapy and the use of medications.
Diet therapy consists of frequent split meals. Infant nutrition includes soy-based formulas. From the diet of older children, foods that increase intestinal motility and irritate its mucous membranes should be excluded.
These are chocolate, chewing gum, fatty and spicy foods, coffee. For intestinal inflammation, the use of medications is prescribed. These are pentas, salofalk, sulfosalazine. These drugs contain 5-aminosalicylic acid, which reduces inflammatory processes.
Inflammatory bowel disease in children, a condition that used to be rare, is becoming more common, say experts at the Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital.
The major types of intestinal inflammation, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are still considered diseases of adults and are rarely mentioned by pediatricians, says Dr. Maria Oliva-Hemker, chief of the Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Johns Hopkins Children's Hospital.
- abdominal pain - bloody stools - diarrhea - nausea and/or vomiting - poor appetite, weight loss - growth retardation, especially in young children - pallor, rapid heartbeat, fatigue, dizziness may indicate chronic anemia caused by bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract - cases of intestinal inflammation in the family, since up to 30% of this disease is caused by heredity.
In the United States, more than 100,000 children now have inflammatory bowel disease. Scientists believe that intestinal inflammation is triggered by an overactive immune system. The reasons for this have not yet been clarified, but experts are confident that environmental factors play a role.
The genetic makeup does not change suddenly over a short period, so it is likely that environmental factors stimulate the development of the disease in genetically predisposed children, the scientists say.
Therapeutic measures are based on restoring the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. Treatment prevents the development of exacerbation and also prevents its transition to a chronic form.
Newborns and babies up to one year old are required to be put on a strict diet and also undergo a course of drug treatment, which includes:
- antimicrobials;
- antiviral;
- vitamin complexes;
- enzymes;
- anti-inflammatory agents.
In cases where the cause of the disease is ascariasis or helminthiasis parasites, first of all, therapy is carried out using antiparasitic drugs. Young patients are shown bed rest and diet No. 4 (after improvement - No. 4B).
Therapy for enterocolitis in infants has its own characteristics. First of all, children are prescribed a strict diet. In an infant, symptoms and treatment are directly related: the more acutely a particular symptom of the disease manifests itself, the more targeted the treatment.
In cases where the development of acute enterocolitis is observed in infants, first of all, gastric lavage is performed. Only after this is a diet based on tea and/or water prescribed. Such children are sent to an infectious diseases hospital.
After the end of the diet, the baby can be returned to the previous diet. At first, he needs to be fed frequently and preferably with breast milk. If a woman cannot continue breastfeeding, doctors may prescribe a medicinal formula for artificial feeding.
Treatment of chronic enterocolitis is carried out over a long period of time and in stages. In most cases, treatment lasts from 6 to 10 months, but improvements are obvious as early as 3-4 weeks.
It is worth remembering that even after a significant improvement in the patient’s condition, it is not recommended to suspend the course of treatment, as this may provoke a relapse of the disease.
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Children at the common table should be limited in their consumption of:
- spicy, salty and sour;
- cow's milk;
- fatty fish and meat;
- honey;
- flour products.
Products that are allowed to be consumed for enterocolitis:
- soups with low-fat broth;
- cottage cheese, kefir;
- eggs (boiled);
- jelly;
- butter;
- lean fish;
- meatballs;
- baked vegetables and fruits.
Mothers of newborns should adhere to the above diet during breastfeeding.
Many parents have encountered such a problem as intestinal inflammation in their child.
Intestinal inflammation {amp}amp; this is an inflammatory process of its mucous membranes. In other words, this disease is characterized by immune inflammation of the intestinal wall. The inflammation can be chronic.
It is in one of the first places among childhood pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract. The most serious diseases are Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. The latter occurs in 6 out of 100,000 people.
Children are more susceptible to this disease. The causes of this disease in children have not been identified. The occurrence of intestinal inflammation is most often associated with poor diet and the presence of viral infections in the body.
UC: symptoms and diagnosis
The first symptoms of this disease can appear in babies aged 3-5 months.
The main symptoms of ulcerative colitis are the appearance of blood in the child's stool followed by diarrhea. In older children, diarrhea occurs immediately. Chronic UC is manifested by frequent loose stools with painful spasms.
Diagnosis of the disease includes palpation and rectal examination. With UC there is no bloating or pelvic floor tenderness.
Crohn's disease: symptoms and diagnosis
With this disease, intestinal inflammation is accompanied by ulcerative formations on the mucous membranes. Ulcers can develop into fistulas. At the very beginning of the disease, a narrowing of the intestines is observed. The consequences are frequent bowel movements and abdominal pain after eating. In the later stages of Crohn's disease, there may be blood in the stool.
Extraintestinal symptoms are added to these symptoms. This is aphthous stomatitis. representing a lesion of the mucous membranes of the oral cavity; oligoarthritis of the joints; episcleritis; conjunctivitis; uveitis; formation of oxalate stones.
Diagnosis of the disease includes palpation, irrigoscopy, endoscopy, colonoscopy. Rectal examination reveals swelling of the intestinal walls, hemorrhages, the presence of cracks and fistulas in the intestine.
Treatment of intestinal inflammation in children should be aimed at restoring the structure of the intestinal mucous membranes. Complex treatment includes diet therapy and the use of medications.
Diet therapy consists of frequent split meals. Infant nutrition includes soy-based formulas. From the diet of older children, foods that increase intestinal motility and irritate its mucous membranes should be excluded. These are chocolate, chewing gum, fatty and spicy foods, coffee.
For intestinal inflammation, the use of medications is prescribed. These are pentas, salofalk, sulfosalazine. These drugs contain 5-aminosalicylic acid, which reduces inflammatory processes.
In some cases, intestinal inflammation requires surgical intervention. Therefore, at the first symptoms of UC and Crohn's disease, it is necessary to show the child to specialists.
General information
Intestinal colic in newborns is a condition associated with age-related functional disorders of the digestive tract in infants and accompanied by paroxysmal abdominal pain. Children in the first six months of life often experience various functional gastrointestinal disorders: regurgitation, intestinal colic, functional diarrhea and constipation. Intestinal colic, according to the results of various studies, occurs in 20 - 70% of newborns.
The greatest severity and frequency of intestinal colic is observed in children aged 1.5 to 3 months. Intestinal colic is more common in boys and first-born children. Intestinal colic can disrupt the feeding and sleeping patterns of a newborn and cause emotional stress and nervousness for young parents. Pediatrics, pediatric gastroenterology, and neurology provide a comprehensive solution to the problem of intestinal colic in newborns and children in the first months of life.
Symptoms of rickets in infants
When it comes to the symptoms of rickets in children, many people picture an unhappy child with bow legs and a big belly. And this is correct to some extent, but only at a very advanced stage of the disease. But there are much earlier symptoms that differ depending on the form of rickets.
The first signs of rickets in newborns in most cases appear at 2-3 months of life. Therefore, the mother needs to carefully monitor the baby’s condition. If your child sleeps restlessly at night. often cries, sweats a lot and grows slower than peers, it wouldn’t hurt to consult a specialist.
- the shape of the head becomes unusual: the frontal and parietal tubercles become more pronounced, and the back of the head thickens;
- deformation of the chest occurs: the chest can be either sunken or bulging forward;
- due to muscle hypotension, the stomach becomes large and wide.
Such a child does not want to play active games, gets tired quickly, and starts playing late. Possible tremor of the hands and chin. Children who already know how to stand on their feet may experience deformation.
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- pronounced retardation in mental and physical development;
- serious deformations of the bones of the skull, chest and limbs.
Children with such symptoms often cannot even sit without support, let alone stand up on their own. In addition, shortness of breath, increased heart rate and a significant increase in liver size may appear.
And in order to prevent the disease from developing to such a state, you need to carefully monitor the baby’s health and, if necessary, start treatment on time. But we’ll talk about this in future articles, but for now I recommend reading about the causes of rickets.
Mucus in baby's stool
The ideal for every young mother should be baby stool with a creamy consistency. It doesn't matter what the baby eats. Whether with mother's milk or artificial formula, this should be exactly so, besides, if the color of the baby's stool is golden and the smell is sour - yes, you can be proud of it! But there should be vanishingly little mucus - just inclusion.
The presence of a significant amount of mucus in this food product, on the contrary, should alert mommy. If, at the same time, the baby’s stool smells unpleasant and is greenish in color. streaks of blood are present - these are obvious symptoms of indigestion.
After looking at the feces, look at the baby - does he have colic, flatulence, what kind of appetite does he have, is his tummy swollen. Be sure to talk to your pediatrician; of course, a stool test is also needed.
To detect the first symptoms of dyspepsia, the mother must be extremely attentive, because the increase in the amount of mucus at first may be small; in any case, you need to see a doctor and get a coprogram.
You can visually determine that it is mucus in a baby’s stool by its appearance; these are light, jelly-like or watery inclusions. Actually, with the help of mucus, the intestines are protected from acids and alkalis.
A common cause of mucus in infants is dysbacteriosis.
Other causes of mucus in the stool may be an infectious-inflammatory process in the gastrointestinal tract, or poisoning.
Insufficient content of enzymes and microorganisms that actively participate in the digestion of food can be the cause of all these ailments.
Many doctors claim that mucus in children's stool is produced in noticeable quantities by inflammation in the large intestine. There are worse things when the cause of mucus in the stool is dysentery, salmonellosis, etc.
When breastfeeding, it is very important to check your milk for sterility; for this, the necessary analysis is done. If something is discovered, do not stop breastfeeding, but simply undergo a course of treatment with your child.
Explore your menu - children may have allergies to certain foods. Get a blood test for the MAST test.
Using bacteria to create better aquarium living conditions
The aquarium has its own ecological system, different from the external environment, which helps create improved living conditions for fish, algae and other inhabitants of the underwater world.
Nitrifying bacteria (family Nitrobacteracea), which live in the aquarium, feed on inorganic compounds, process nitrogen, nitrites, carbon, forming organic compounds. These, in turn, become food for plants and some species of animals and fish.
Saprophytes living in the aquarium process dead remains, waste, feces, forming organic and inorganic compounds that feed algae and other inhabitants of the plant world, thus participating in the cycle of life of the aquarium and improving the quality of the fish’s habitat.
In addition to useful ones, aquariums can contain harmful bacteria that cause infectious diseases in its inhabitants. Most diseases in fish can be successfully treated with antibiotics. It should be borne in mind that antibiotics kill good microflora, which is better restored by starting a new one.
Aquarium bacteria are a kind of natural filter that cleanses the environment from decay products, the remains of dead cells, and toxic substances formed as a result. This is the best filter that does not require electricity or a lot of money.
In addition to unicellular organisms, phytoplankton, multicellular organisms, and protozoa can live in an aquarium. The best of them are ciliates, which, by feeding on pests, maintain the balance of the microflora of the aquarium.
Diagnostics
After a thorough physical examination and study of the medical history, the doctor prescribes a series of diagnostic procedures to clarify the diagnosis and exclude fungal or bacterial sepsis.
If neutropenic enterocolitis is suspected, the child is prescribed x-rays to obtain a visual picture of the disease. The results of the x-ray can show the doctor the presence or absence of enlargement in the inflamed parts of the intestine.
The most effective methods in making a diagnosis of enterocolitis are coprogram and bacteriological culture. When carrying out a coprogram, the physical and chemical composition of feces is examined in detail, according to the results of which hidden bleeding or the presence of helminth eggs can be detected.
Despite clearly established diagnostic rules, most often doctors have to start antibiotic treatment before receiving test results. If this is not done, then rapidly progressing enterocolitis can lead to irreversible processes in the intestines or death in a matter of days.
Chronic enterocolitis is much more difficult to diagnose, since this requires a series of studies aimed at determining the degree of intestinal depletion. For these purposes, an X-ray examination is prescribed, which will show whether there are changes in the structure of the tissues and the presence of ulcers.
Necrotizing enterocolitis is determined using ultrasound diagnostics, which shows the presence of free fluid in the abdominal region and the accumulation of gases. An ultrasound will also show whether there is necrosis of intestinal tissue.
Intestinal obstruction in newborns, causes - congenital anomalies
In newborns, congenital intestinal obstruction usually occurs, which accounts for about 25% of all intestinal obstruction in children. With this type of congenital anomaly, the main thing is timely detection and timely surgery.
Causes of intestinal obstruction in newborns
Congenital intestinal obstruction develops, as a rule, with congenital malformations of the intestine. This may be the congenital absence or abnormal narrowing of any opening or channel in the human body, stenosis, high location of the cecum in combination with volvulus of another part of the colon, infringement of intestinal loops in mesenteric defects, and so on.
Intestinal obstruction in newborns can also be caused by abnormalities in the development of neighboring organs, such as the pancreas. Diabetes and the pancreas - things you need to know.
Acute intestinal obstruction in newborns
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Acute intestinal obstruction of newborns is divided into high and low. High acute intestinal obstruction is characterized by the presence of an obstacle to the passage of feces at the level of the duodenum or the initial part of the jejunum.
Organic constipation
In some cases, genetic or congenital disorders in the structure and innervation of the rectum can lead to constipation.
For example, dolichosigma, when an elongated rectum is formed in the intestine, with an additional loop where feces stagnate, stretching the intestinal walls.
This leads to constant constipation and excessive overstretching of the rectum.
Hirschsprung's disease is a genetically determined condition in which there are no nerve endings in the intestinal walls. As a result, the intestines do not react to irritation from accumulated feces and do not contract.
In almost all cases, organic constipation is treated with surgical intervention, which avoids many complications caused by fecal stagnation.
Differences in types of diathesis in infants
Most often, the term diathesis refers to food allergies in a small child. But in fact, this is the body’s predisposition to a particular disease. It is almost impossible to get rid of it.
They talk about diathesis when signs of some kind of disease process appear.
What it is
Diathesis is a special condition of a child’s body, which is inherited and indicates a tendency for the child to develop various diseases.
The term diathesis in most cases refers to one of the types of dermatitis.
Most often, infants may experience:
- exudative. This is a child’s tendency to rashes, frequent respiratory diseases and diseases of the digestive system;
- allergic. In terms of clinical manifestations, it differs little from exudative, but it occurs at any age;
- spasmophilic. Tendency to convulsions, spasm of internal organs.
Currently, symptoms of this condition appear in almost 70% of children under one year of age. Intestinal function in infants is reduced, and digestive enzymes and antibodies are produced in insufficient quantities, while at the same time the permeability of the intestinal wall is increased.
The combination of all these factors leads to the fact that incompletely broken down food components penetrate into the bloodstream.
These large fragments of molecules, which have antigenic properties, easily trigger allergic reactions.
There is a whole range of reasons, both hereditary and acquired.
A child may inherit from his parents:
- metabolic features in which there is a tendency to retain or quickly remove water from the body;
- disruption of the digestive system, due to which the synthesis of food enzymes decreases, the absorption of fats and glucose is disrupted, the synthesis of allergic antibodies increases, and the body’s defenses decrease;
- allergic diseases: bronchial asthma, urticaria, eczema;
- structural features of the skin, mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and gastrointestinal tract, with increased permeability to allergens.
Features of the gastrointestinal tract in children, child
In newborns and children in the first months of life, the oral cavity is relatively small, the tongue is large, the muscles of the mouth and cheeks are well developed, and in the thickness of the cheeks there are fatty bodies (Bishat's lumps), which are distinguished by significant elasticity due to the predominance of solid (saturated) fatty acids in them.
These features ensure proper breastfeeding . The mucous membrane of the oral cavity is tender, dry, rich in blood vessels (easily vulnerable). The salivary glands are poorly developed and produce little saliva. The salivary glands begin to function actively by the 3-4th month of life, but even at the age of 1 year, the volume of saliva (150 ml) is 1/10 of the amount in an adult. The enzymatic activity of saliva at an early age is 1/3-1/2 of its activity in adults, but it reaches the level of adults within 1-2 years.
Possible consequences
The prognosis of the disease depends on its causes and timely initiation of therapy. Prevention consists of preventing and treating intestinal infections. Correct lifestyle and diet play a big role in further prevention.
Despite the overall favorable prognosis, if not treated in a timely manner, enterocolitis can cause the following complications:
- development of necrotizing enterocolitis;
- pathogens can spread to other organs and cause, for example, meningitis or pneumonia;
- development of pseudomembranous enterocolitis (characterized by the complete absence of bacteria in the intestines).
All signs of dysbiosis in infants
Risk factors
The intestinal microflora is formed in the first months of a child’s life. During this period, transient dysbiosis occurs, which does not need to be treated. But under the influence of negative factors, the balance between beneficial and pathogenic organisms on the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract is significantly disrupted. This condition requires attention from parents.
Causes of dysbacteriosis:
- Complete absence of breastfeeding or early transition to an adapted diet. Mixtures. which bottle-fed babies consume have a balanced composition, but unlike mother’s milk, they do not help the process of microflora formation.
- Use of antimicrobial agents. After a course of broad-spectrum antibiotics, not only pathogenic agents die, but also lacto- and bifidobacteria. After antibiotics taken by a nursing mother, there is also a deterioration in the functioning of the baby's intestines.
- Premature introduction of complementary foods. Until six months, a baby’s gastrointestinal tract is not able to digest solid food; introducing adult foods ahead of time leads to a significant disruption of the digestion process. The same negative effects occur after drinking whole cow's or goat's milk for up to a year.
- Intestinal infections. After them, inflammation of the intestinal mucosa occurs, and conditions are created for the growth of pathogenic bacteria.
- Food allergies. A child’s gastrointestinal tract is very sensitive; allergens easily damage the cells of its epithelial membranes, as a result of which their functioning is impaired.
- Frequent illnesses, poor nutrition, environmental pollution and other factors that provoke a general decrease in immunity.
Clinical picture
Symptoms of dysbiosis after antibiotics or infections are varied. The most commonly found signs are:
- problems with defecation – liquid stool, irregular bowel movements, unusual type of bowel movements
- bloating and associated pain
- profuse regurgitation
- loss of appetite - reduction in portions, refusal to breastfeed
- poor weight gain
- moodiness, sleep disturbance
- rash on the body
- symptoms of general intoxication – fever, weakness
The most striking manifestation of dysbiosis in a newborn is considered to be disturbed stool. Let's look at all the symptoms in more detail.
Massage for colic
It is recommended to massage your baby's tummy before each feeding. For best results, massage after using a heating pad for five minutes. You can heat the diaper with an iron or hold it on a warm radiator, then put it on the baby’s stomach, cover it with your hands and hold it for a while. There is no need to lubricate your hands with oil or cream.
- Lightly stroke your belly in a clockwise direction. Make about 10 turns.
- Then alternately bend and unbend his legs, pressing them to his stomach. Do this for 6–8 repetitions with each leg.
- Turn the baby over onto his tummy and make several stroking movements from the sides and over the pelvic bones in the direction from the stomach to the lower back.
