The early spring season is now underway, and with the rise in temperature, the number of people going out for leisure has increased significantly. However, because of the temperature change in the early spring season, especially the temperature difference between morning and evening and noon, the number of patients visiting hospitals for gastrointestinal diseases has also increased significantly.
In spring, the temperature changes a lot and it is warm and cold at the first time, so the hot and cold stimulation can accelerate the decomposition of proteins in the body, resulting in a lower resistance of the body and causing the recurrence of gastrointestinal diseases. This time the air humidity gradually increases, bacteria, viruses and other microorganisms are active, easily leading to gastrointestinal diseases, if not pay attention to daily maintenance, some diseases will take advantage of the entry, gastrointestinal disease is one of them. It is understood that every spring there is a peak in the number of outpatient visits to the gastroenterology department of children’s hospitals, in which patients with bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea account for most of them.
Cold is the main cause of abdominal pain and diarrhea, because of the warm climate, many people dress too much at once, especially when they go out to engage in outdoor activities, especially easy to ignore the warmth, it is easy to catch cold and induce disease. In addition, improper diet is also an important factor in the incidence of gastrointestinal diseases, the temperature rises so that many people’s eating habits have changed greatly, not only began to eat a lot of raw and cold hard food, but also in the roadside stalls to eat snacks and other dining opportunities, because some stalls do not pass the hygiene, due to the consumption of unclean food leading to a higher chance of diarrhea, is also a major factor in the recent increase in gastrointestinal diseases. In addition, some patients are suffering from gastrointestinal diseases caused by drinking large amounts of beverages to stimulate the gastrointestinal tract. Some gastrointestinal patients also consume food stored in the refrigerator without heating because of the warm weather, which leads to gastrointestinal diseases. Once the abdominal pain, diarrhea or nausea, vomiting and other gastrointestinal symptoms, patients must go to the hospital in a timely manner, do not take drugs privately, so as not to delay the treatment time.
In order to help children successfully pass through the “eventful spring”, the following is the knowledge of prevention and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases in spring.
Chronic abdominal pain – pay attention to examination
Chronic abdominal pain is one of the most common symptoms in children, which we call “recurrent abdominal pain”. One of the many causes of abdominal pain is environmental and mental stress, or what we often call “functional abdominal pain”. Nowadays, parents often over-educate their children, and stomach pains often occur in children who are under too much pressure to study. Chronic gastritis is the most common cause of abdominal pain in children, especially in the upper abdomen, and pediatric gastroscopy has revealed that many children’s stomach problems are caused by H. pylori. The current clinical methods used to detect H. pylori infection can include gastric mucosal biopsy, 13C and 14C urea breath tests, PCR and serum antibodies. Gastric mucosal biopsy, 13C and 14C urea breath tests are the most accurate, but 14C is not used in children because of its radiation, and 13C is mainly used in children, while gastrointestinal function tests can assist in the diagnosis of functional gastrointestinal disorders in children.
Diarrhea – Correcting the Perception
Summer is a high season for diarrhea, which is also a common pediatric condition. There are many misconceptions about the prevention and treatment of diarrhea in children, mainly in the following areas. First, fasting. Children consume a lot when they have diarrhea, and if they don’t eat east two, they will lack nutrition and have a hard time fighting the disease. The second is infusion. General diarrhea can completely take oral rehydration salt, very effective. Third, the abuse of anti-inflammatory drugs and antibiotics. This not only has no effect on diarrhea caused by rotavirus infection, but also kills some beneficial bacteria, such as bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, causing disruption of the flora in the body and disrupting the micro-ecological balance. In addition, those with prolonged or chronic diarrhea with fever should be alerted to the occurrence of inflammatory bowel disease.
Anorexia – clarify the cause
Anorexia is one of the most common medical conditions in children. First of all, it should be clarified whether the child has bad eating habits, such as the hot weather in summer, sweet drinks such as ice cream, ice cream, etc. Secondly, parents forcing the child to eat for a long time will make the child have the illusion that “eating is equal to suffering”, gradually forming a conditioned refusal to eat, and eventually developing into anorexia. In addition, a variety of acute and chronic diseases are often accompanied by anorexia, the body systems, organs, especially when the digestive system is involved, can reduce the digestive function. Zinc deficiency can also lead to anorexia in children.
Once the cause is identified, the child should receive treatment under the guidance of a doctor. Keep the child’s attention during meals and do not use storytelling or television as a trade-off. At present, clinicians tend to “starvation” therapy, if the child does not eat without reason or bad food at dinner, he can only wait until the next meal to have something to eat, between the two meals are not allowed to take any food for free. This therapy may seem cruel, but it is very effective and helps the child’s normal psychological development.
Vomiting – Consider the age
Repeated and violent vomiting can cause dehydration, electrolyte imbalance in the body, metabolic toxicity and nutritional disorders. Vomiting has many causes, mainly from gastrointestinal problems. To determine the cause of vomiting, different diseases need to be considered at different ages.
Neonatal vomiting should be distinguished from spillage. Vomiting is when the contents of the stomach are forcefully ejected; milk spillage is when the contents of the esophagus or stomach flow involuntarily out of the mouth and tends to occur with burping and exhaustion. Most normal infants under the age of one will have mild milk spillage, which disappears completely by the age of l or 1.5 years. As the child grows older, some infectious diseases such as otitis media, pharyngitis, pneumonia, urinary tract infections and central nervous system diseases increase the chances of causing vomiting. There are also many gastrointestinal diseases that simply manifest as vomiting, such as chronic gastritis and ulcers, which cause vomiting that is chronic and recurrent, so gastroscopy is needed to determine the cause before treatment. Vomiting caused by central nervous system pathology is mainly manifested as jet vomiting and sometimes requires cranial CT and lumbar puncture to confirm the diagnosis.
Common methods used to examine children for stomach problems are.
1, upper gastrointestinal tract barium swallow, for children with certain difficulties in gastroscopy, but the positive rate of this method is low.
2, electronic gastroscopy, colonoscopy, for older children, high accuracy, can also be performed under the gastroscope biopsy and H. pylori test. Gastroscopy can also be performed in younger children when necessary.
3, urease breath test, the child just need to blow a breath, by a special instrument test, will know whether H. pylori infection. This method is simple, painless and highly sensitive, suitable for pediatric examination.
4.Gastrointestinal function test: detection of gastrointestinal electrogram, gastrointestinal activity, etc., can assist in the diagnosis of functional diseases of the gastrointestinal tract in children.
5.Esophageal pH 24h monitoring and gastrointestinal manometry and pressure monitoring.