Why do children get a hernia? Hernia occurs in children and the elderly. Inguinal hernia in children is a congenital condition. When the male testicle descends through the inguinal canal into the scrotum during embryonic development, it forms a peritoneal sphincter, which closes before and after birth. In girls, the round ligament descends through the inguinal canal into the labia majora and also forms a peritoneal sheath called Nuck’s canal; if the Nuck’s canal degenerates incompletely, a hiatal hernia or Nuck’s canal cyst is formed. Hernia is more common in boys and more common on the right side, with a male to female ratio of 15:1. Liu Sujun, Department of Hernia and Abdominal Wall Surgery, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, often has parents say that the hernia fell out after their child just coughed loudly, or cried out or made a fuss. I draw an analogy with parents and say that if the clothes are fine, they will not break even if they are tugged, but if they are about to break, they will break when they are tugged with a little force. This means that in children with inguinal hernia, there is a factor of congenital non-closure of the peritoneal sheath, and when coughing and crying and constipation, the abdominal pressure increases, prompting the hernia to occur. How can I confirm that my child has a hernia? Whenever you see a mass in the inguinal region, lying hidden and accessible to the scrotum or labia majora, whether you are bathing or changing the child’s diaper, or when the child is crying or playing, you can basically confirm the diagnosis of a hernia. However, it should be differentiated from the following diseases: 1. Incomplete testicular descent (cryptorchidism): There is indeed a mass in the inguinal region, but this mass is a testicle with incomplete descent. The cryptorchid mass is small and the testicle cannot be felt in the scrotal area during examination. Traffic syringomyelia has a small mouth only water can pass through, squeeze the mass can slowly become smaller; spermatic cord syringomyelia or testicular syringomyelia, squeeze the mass after no significant changes. We found in the clinic that pediatric syringomyelia almost always has an unclosed sphincter that is connected to the abdominal cavity. This indicates that hernias are almost always present in those with syringomyelia. In girls with syringomyelia, called Nuck’s cyst, hernias are also essentially present in those with cysts. 3, intestinal obstruction: hernia can cause intestinal obstruction, so the examination should exclude whether the hernia causes intestinal obstruction.