^
A
A
A

What should I do if my child has any discomforts?

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
 
Fact-checked
х

All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.

We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.

If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.

In children who are naturally breast-fed, stools are usually mushy, yellow with white cheesy inclusions and slightly acidic odor. With artificial feeding, stools are thick, pale, with putrefactive odor. In children receiving lure, and in older children, stools are decorated, brown. The change in consistency, color, smell of stool, and the addition of pathological impurities (mucus, blood) indicate these or other disorders in the body.

Diarrhea

In newborns, frequent stools and colic in the abdomen sometimes occur during feeding. A child sucks a breast, but often regurgitates, knees, screams; he can hear a rumbling in his stomach, often gases and, at the same time, stool masses. The baby is restless, often stops sucking, and later completely rejects the breast. Such suckling in children with manifestations of exudative diathesis and children-neuropaths sometimes lasts months before the introduction of complementary foods, but does not affect overall development. To ease the condition, it is recommended to put dry heat on the stomach to reduce intestinal peristalsis, give activated charcoal half a tablet a day to reduce flatulence, reduce the frequency of feeding, water the chamomile broth and spread more often on the stomach.

Infants are prone to diarrhea for minor reasons: overheating in the sun, stay in a stuffy room, excessive wrapping. But more often the liquid stool appears from the wrong feeding: overfeeding, untimely introduction of complementary foods, disordered feeding - all this disrupts digestion.

In any disease (acute respiratory viral infection, otitis, etc.), the content of enzymes in the intestine and stomach decreases - as a result, the food is not digested, decomposed (rotted) and causes diarrhea. Therefore, during the disease, it is recommended to limit the intake of fats and proteins, but to increase the intake of water and carbohydrates. It is necessary to skip one or two feedings, replacing them with sweet tea in the same amount.

Suddenly started diarrhea of green color, with mucus, blood 5-8 times a day, accompanied by a refusal of food, vomiting, general lethargy, indicates dyspepsia caused more often by intestinal infection (E. Coli, staphylococcus, Klebsiella, etc.). This can be due to a violation of the hygienic regime, contamination of food, dirty hands, flies.

If the stool is liquid, orange-yellow in color, with a slight admixture of mucus, blood, and then turns into pure mucus without feces, warmth, abdominal pain with urges on the bottom, then it's more like dysentery.

All the more it seems, if all this is accompanied by pronounced attempts at the act of defecation, losing weight, lethargy, pallor, sometimes the prolapse of the rectum can be observed. Sometimes diarrhea can cause helminthic invasions, i.e., ascariasis, enterobiosis (pinworm), etc. In all cases of diarrhea, it is necessary to do an analysis of feces for eggs of worms.

It should be remembered that bacterial diarrhea is extremely contagious to others, so personal and general hygiene must be carefully observed. If possible, you must provide the sick child with a separate room, provide it with individual dishes, towels, pots. Wash hands thoroughly after taking care of the patient, especially after cleaning the pot and diapers. Diapers, diapers, etc. Should be poured with a 0.5% solution of chloramine, diapers to digest and thoroughly iron.

Feeding for 10-12 hours must be replaced with tea. If diarrhea is accompanied by vomiting, then the tea diet should be continued for 12 hours. Older children can, except for tea, give apples (antonovka), peeled and mashed with sugar. After the tea and apple diet should give a rice broth in half with breast milk. Older children can add kefir and other acidic mixtures.

The most important thing that parents should remember: diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, especially in newborns and infants, is a serious disease that does not tolerate self-treatment.

Do not wait - call a doctor!

trusted-source[1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7],

Constipation

Constipation can be said when the stool is less frequent than in a day. With constipation, feces hard, like nuts, dark in color, its allocation is accompanied by considerable difficulty. In newborns, the multiplicity of the stool should correspond to the number of feedings. If the frequency of bowel movements decreases, but the children develop well and the stool is mushy, then this indicates a complete assimilation of food.

Constipation may occur with insufficient nutrition. In young children, they are accompanied by a significant decrease in body weight and the appearance of a hungry chair - dark green, sticky, lean.

Prolonged, chronic constipation is more difficult to eliminate, since their cause is determined with great difficulty. The leading role in the proper regulation of the action of the intestine is nutrition. Food that is excessively rich in protein, the uniform feeding of infants with cow's milk, and in older children, the prevalence of eggs, meat, kefir, and cottage cheese in the diet contributes to the appearance of constipation. With a protein rich in food, the stool is dense, gray in color, dry, offensive. Regular consumption of fruits and vegetables eliminates constipation, if there are no other reasons.

Children with severe rickets, thyroid disease, constipation due to calcium deficiency in the body, as calcium is involved in muscle contractions of smooth muscles of the intestine. When the ionic composition is normalized (adding calcium ions and eliminating the underlying disease) - the stool is normalized.

Abuse of enemas or laxatives can contribute to constipation. To suppress the defecation reflex lead shyness, shame, stay in someone else's environment, a sedentary lifestyle, etc. These reasons are easily eliminated with appropriate upbringing.

If the child suffers from constipation, the stomach grows, weight loss progresses, dry skin, anemia, then it should be consulted as soon as possible with the doctor.

trusted-source[8], [9], [10], [11], [12], [13], [14]

Upset bladder

In infants, the urine is clear, with sedimentation it does not form sediment, since it has few salts. Urine clouding can be observed during febrile state, as the amount of salts increases. In older children, the precipitate of a brick color in the urine occurs when eating foods rich in proteins, especially meat, liver, kidneys, and with a small amount of liquid drunk. White sludge is observed in children receiving plant food with insufficient drinking. All these conditions are physiological, do not require special treatment, and are eliminated by increasing the amount of liquid drunk.

Turbid urine can be with inflammatory processes in the kidneys, urinary tracts, from the admixture of bacteria or pus. The urine is intensely yellow, the color of the beer, foaming indicates liver disease. Red urine or the color of "meat slops" is with kidney disease.

True, the color of urine can vary not only in diseases. When you eat beets, when you use analgin, phenacetin, rhubarb, the color of urine also changes. However, if you change the color of urine, it is still advisable to consult a doctor.

Pain when urinating, pain in the lumbar region, giving in the groin, indicate the presence of inflammatory processes in the kidneys or in the urinary tract. With stones in the bladder, pain occurs suddenly, more often at the end of urination. If the bladder has inflammation, tenderness holds longer, the urine is a trickle or drops, sometimes involuntarily, sometimes delayed, sometimes colored with blood.

At stones in kidneys, ureters there is a renal colic. It is characterized by a sharp pain in the lumbar region, giving off in the genitals, nausea, vomiting. The child can not find a place, rushes in pain. Urine is initially delayed, then, if it starts to separate, it intensively turns yellow-pink. With kidney stones, the child lags behind in development, anemia grows, the general condition is disrupted. In case of a bout of pain, it is necessary to call a doctor, put dry heat on the lumbar region. With urolithiasis, a dairy-vegetable diet is useful. As a drink: Borjomi, Essentuki No. 4, crimson, cranberry, cranberry fruit.

In each case of violation of the act of urination, it is necessary to examine the external genitalia in children. Girls can have reddening of the mucous membrane of the external genital organs after the flu and other infectious diseases, with unhygienic care, from irritation with pinworms, trichomonads, in the case of microorganisms. Pinworms can crawl into the urethra and cause pain and inflammation. Infection occurs most often from parents, so all family members need to get rid of the pathogens after the preliminary examination. In boys, inflammation in the urinary canal and penis may be due to mechanical irritation: tight panties, playing with the penis. Warm sessile baths with potassium permanganate eliminate pain with little irritation.

Night incontinence of urine can occur with constantly arising inflammations of external genital organs and with insufficiently correct upbringing of the child. Reflex for urination is developed from the age of five to six months, when the child is systematically planted on a pot.

Planting on the pot should be accompanied by conditional sounds that stimulate the child to act of urination. On the pot the child is put after sleeping, walking, eating.

In each case of urinary incontinence, you should seek medical advice from a doctor, as it may occur as a result of an abnormality in the development of the urinary tract, spinal defects. In some cases, only the radiological and urological examinations can find out the cause of this suffering.

Convulsions

Cramps occur in children the more often, the younger the child. The causes of seizures are diverse. They usually come suddenly, paroxysmally in the form of stretching the body, involuntary and short-term muscle contractions, often accompanied by loss of consciousness. There may be partial twitching of the muscles of the face, limbs and trunk. Newborns, especially premature babies, are prone to convulsions. The cause of them may be birth trauma (asphyxia, the imposition of obstetric forceps, prolonged difficult births). In newborns and infants at high temperature during any disease, frequent twitching of the muscles of the face and limbs can occur. A monotonous dairy-flour diet can cause seizures in infants.

Propensity to convulsions can manifest initially at the spasm of the larynx, when the child begins to breathe noisily, crying cries when crying, then stopping breathing, convulsive mixing of fingers, feet, and general convulsions may occur. Such cramps are characteristic of spasmophilia in rickets.

Typical cramps in epilepsy. The child suddenly screams, loses consciousness and falls to the floor. The body fetters a tonic spasm - the muscles are sharply tense, the face pales, the pupils are dilated, the breathing stops. After 15-20 seconds the child takes a deep breath, jerking of the gluteal muscles appears, and then the whole body cramps come. During convulsions, involuntary urination and defecation occur. After the attack, a dream comes. The seizure lasts from a few seconds to one or two hours. After the seizures, the body temperature rises, the child feels tired and does not remember what happened to him before the fit. Convulsions with a previous rise in temperature, with a head tilting, are characteristic of meningitis or encephalitis.

With epileptic spasms, the patient needs to be laid so that the head does not tilt and roll over the floor, the tongue does not sink, the head turns sideways and put something soft under it, cover the child and ensure the flow of fresh air into the room. Before the cessation of seizures, the child should not be disturbed.

When young children have seizures associated with fever, or with spasmophilia, they should also be put in bed, make sure that the baby does not bite the tongue: to do this, insert a teaspoon wrapped in gauze between the jaws in the molar area. It is recommended to cold on the head, a warm bath (36-37 ° C).

Girls (more often than boys) have hysterical cramps during puberty. Usually they are preceded by experiences, fright, joy, anger, etc. Cramps affect mainly the musculature of the trunk. Compared with epilepsy, the patient's appearance is almost unchanged, with the exception of the pallor of the skin. Pupils are uniform, with a good reaction to light, the patient does not fall into a drowsy state and remembers everything that happened before the moment of attack. The fit lasts a few minutes. It is necessary to put the sick child in bed, to release from the restraining clothes, to give sniffs of ammonia, after an attack to give to drink a tincture of valerian.

It is strictly forbidden to brake children during seizures, bring them to consciousness, pour water into the mouth or give pills, as water or tablets can get into the trachea. The earlier the child is sent to the hospital, the shorter the way to recovery. Children with an excitable nervous system need to prevent a seizure by creating the right regimen and a healthy environment, regular and systematic physical education. It is necessary to prevent (and treat) rickets in a timely manner.

trusted-source[15], [16], [17], [18], [19]

Bleeding

Nose bleed. Children often have bleeding from the nose. Their causes can be very different, the most frequent is mechanical damage. The child, playing, can hit his nose or head, resulting in bleeding from the nose. In some cases, the integrity of the nasal mucosa is disturbed due to a bad habit to pick one's finger in the nose. Even with minor bleeding from the nose, parents are often frightened and thereby impart fear to children. We must act calmly. If the bleeding is severe and occurs as a result of a head or face injury, it is necessary to call a doctor. Before the doctor comes, the child should be given a semi-sitting or sitting position. Put the cold on the bridge of the nose (a hot-water bottle with ice or just with cold water), to the feet - a warm water bottle, hands to lower into a basin with cold water. If all these measures do not lead to a stop of bleeding, you need to put a cotton wool moistened with a 2% hydrogen peroxide solution into your nose, press the nose wing to the nasal septum. All this can be done without calling a doctor if the bleeding is not strong. But if all the measures taken did not lead to the stopping of bleeding, it is urgent to call a doctor. Bleeding from the nose can occur without injury, with diseases accompanied by high fever (influenza, measles, etc.), with strong physical exertion. In such cases, first aid is reduced to the same measures, but if the bleeding is repeated or copious, it is necessary to be examined by a doctor.

Hemoplegia. In some cases, it is possible to observe the scarring of blood from the respiratory tract, usually with a cough with sputum. Such bleeding may occur with pulmonary tuberculosis, but may also occur due to rupture of some vessel. Of course, these haemorrhages are always very dangerous and serious. In each case, it is necessary to urgently call a doctor, and before his arrival, to ensure the child complete peace, to give a semi-sitting position, to prohibit conversations. Place the ice-bladder on the sternum area. It is good to give a solution of table salt in small portions (a dessert spoon on a glass of water). You can give a little swallow ice.

Hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes can be with diseases in which in one case there is damage to the walls of blood vessels, and in another - the change in the duration of blood clotting. So, for example, with Shenlaine-Henoch disease, under the influence of the most minor injuries, there is an increase in the permeability of the vascular wall. On the skin there are small-point hemorrhages, which are often located on the inner limbs symmetrically on both sides of the body. Sometimes hemorrhages on the skin are combined with swelling and soreness. This is a serious illness, and home treatment is usually ineffective.

When such a disease occurs, it is necessary to call a doctor. Before he comes, you can give foods containing a large amount of vitamin C, which strengthens the vascular wall. Vitamin C in large quantities is contained in lemon, black currant. If the house has a solution of calcium chloride, then you can give it from a teaspoon to the dining room, depending on the age.

Very often, nosebleeds and hemorrhages to the skin are noted with Verlhof disease. The essence of the disease consists in a sharp decrease in the number of blood platelets (platelets) that participate in the process of blood clotting. The main signs of this disease are spontaneous hemorrhages in the skin and mucous membranes of the oral cavity. Often there are nosebleeds that are difficult to stop. The temperature with this disease is usually normal; sometimes there are heavy bleeding from other organs. A patient with Verlhof's illness should be treated in a hospital. Before the doctor comes, if there is nosebleeds, a cotton swab soaked in a 2% solution of hydrogen peroxide can be inserted into the nose.

And, finally, hemophilia is the third disease in which prolonged and difficult to stop bleeding can be observed. This disease is inherited by women, but men are sick. In the case of hemophilia with a minor cut, bruise, bite of the tongue, removal of the tooth, hard-to-stop bleeding occurs, which can last from several hours to several days and, if not timely, help lead to death. Of the preventive measures in this disease can be recommended eating peanuts (peanuts) about 200-300 grams per day daily. In hospital, 15-30 ml of blood is injected intramuscularly 1-2 times per month. When bleeding occurs, you need to put the child in bed, create a peace for him. If there is a nosebleed, then you can try zatam-ponir nasal passages with cotton wool soaked in a 2% solution of hydrogen peroxide.

In families where children suffer from these diseases (bleeding), you should have a drug called a hemostatic sponge. The sponge can be diluted with boiled water to a gruel-like condition and, having impregnated it with a cotton or gauze swab, enter into the nose or attach to another bleeding place. However, it is by no means always possible to steadfastly stop bleeding by such measures. In all these cases, the child needs treatment in a hospital.

trusted-source[20], [21], [22]

Translation Disclaimer: For the convenience of users of the iLive portal this article has been translated into the current language, but has not yet been verified by a native speaker who has the necessary qualifications for this. In this regard, we warn you that the translation of this article may be incorrect, may contain lexical, syntactic and grammatical errors.

You are reporting a typo in the following text:
Simply click the "Send typo report" button to complete the report. You can also include a comment.