Abdominal pain - a phenomenon
A perennial topic in paediatrics today: abdominal pain. These are largely a phenomenon - because it is often not clear why children suffer from them.
Firstly, we must distinguish between acute, sudden, severe abdominal pain and functional abdominal pain:
Acute
The child gets abdominal pain out of the blue, cries, writhes, may not want to walk or jump around at all, and often has a fever and vomiting as well. The rule here is very clear: any child who has abdominal pain for a good hour or two hours should be seen quickly by a paediatrician - at the very least, the paediatrician should be consulted.
Functional
What is much, much more common, however, are recurring episodes of abdominal pain throughout the day. In the past, this was referred to as growing pains, today it is called functional abdominal pain. What is meant is the same: there is no tangible cause or organic reason for the pain. In 75 to 80 per cent of children of infant and primary school age, there are no reasons for these episodes of abdominal pain.
But what to do?
It never hurts to look at the food. The two most common intolerances in children are lactose and fructose.
Otherwise, it is extremely important to know warning signs that may not occur if it is "only" functional abdominal pain.
A child should ...
... not lose extra weight, ... not be more sleepy and tired than usual, ... not have repeated bouts of fever, ... not have frequent vomiting and diarrhoea.
And another very important point: functional abdominal pain does not normally occur at night. The children sleep peacefully.
If the warning signs mentioned do not occur, you do not have to get nervous immediately and can observe your child's abdominal pain first. The child does not need to be seen by a doctor (immediately). Nevertheless, it is always a good idea to consult your paediatrician if you have any doubts.
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