We often hear children say that they have stomach pains, but when we take them to the hospital, we can’t find anything wrong with them, so some parents inevitably suspect that their children are using stomach pains as an excuse not to go to kindergarten. In fact, this kind of “unexplained” tummy ache may be caused by the growing pains of the child’s intestines! What’s wrong with a child’s tummy ache when he or she is not sick? “Mommy, my tummy hurts again!” 3-year-old Mengmeng said to his mommy with a painful face, then he covered his stomach and fell on his bed, yelling that he didn’t want to go to kindergarten. Recently, Mengmeng always shouted that her stomach hurt, and when she was in pain, she was sweating profusely, looking pale and crying loudly. The mommy usually gives her a massage for a while and then she gets better and laughs as usual. When she went to the hospital for examination, the doctor said that Mengmeng’s stomach pain was “gastrointestinal growing pains” in children. The term “gastrointestinal growing pains”, which sounds unfamiliar, is actually very common in our lives. Now, let’s take you to know what “gastrointestinal growing pains” are. Gastrointestinal Growing Pains Symptoms: Gastrointestinal growing pains are a normal physiological phenomenon, mostly seen in children aged 3 to 12 years old who are in the growth phase. The number of painful episodes varies from person to person, ranging from several times a day to several times an hour. The area of pain is mainly around the umbilicus, followed by epigastric pain. The pain in children is not regular, and the degree of pain is not uniform, but only abdominal discomfort in mild cases, and colic in severe cases, which can be seen in children with unbearable pain, blue or white face, and even nausea and vomiting, and the intestinal sound of “gurgling” can be heard. Gastrointestinal growing pains are caused by the rapid growth and development of children, resulting in a temporary shortage of blood supply to the body. When the bones grow rapidly, the nerves and tendons around them cannot grow accordingly and produce pulling pain in the lower limbs; when the intestines are temporarily ischemic, spasmodic contraction of the intestines may occur and cause abdominal pain; in addition, the disorder of plant nerve function may lead to uncoordinated gastrointestinal nerve inhibition and cause abdominal pain. Judgment of gastrointestinal growing pains Cold and excessive consumption of cold food in children can also often induce abdominal pain. So, how can you tell if your child’s stomach pain is caused by gastrointestinal growing pains or other causes? Mothers may wish to refer to the following points: Duration of abdominal pain: recurring over a period of time, with each pain being relatively short, usually no more than 10 minutes. Number of abdominal pains: varies from person to person, some several times per day, some several times per hour. Location of abdominal pain: mainly around the umbilicus, followed by epigastric pain. Characteristics of abdominal pain: The pain is not regular and the degree of pain is not uniform. Generally, the pain can be relieved quickly and the child’s mental state, diet and play return to normal after relief. It should be noted that if the child’s abdominal pain lasts for a long time, the pain intensifies when pressed by hand or the child is afraid to touch the stomach, the child is considered to be suffering from other diseases such as gastroenteritis, intestinal entrapment, intestinal worms, etc. and should go to the hospital as soon as possible. Correct relief of gastrointestinal growing pains Many parents will take the method of pressing and rubbing when their children have stomach pains, do not just press and rub your child’s stomach! If the child belongs to gastrointestinal growing pains, that is, the stomach is soft to the touch and will not hurt more when pressed, then the method can be taken; but if the child is not gastrointestinal growing pains, such as the pain increases when pressed, then the method should not be taken, otherwise it will aggravate the condition and even cause more harm. So, how should parents relieve their children’s gastrointestinal growing pains? Hot compresses: Mom and dad can use hot towels to apply hot compresses to the child’s painful parts. The function of hot compresses is to promote local blood circulation, accelerate the absorption of inflammation and relieve muscle spasms, thus relieving the child’s sense of pain. Massage the abdomen: children with tummy pain can reduce the pain by massaging around the belly button. The method is to use the palm of your hand or three fingers together to press in the abdomen gently moisten, half clockwise and half counterclockwise, massage for 5 minutes. Massage, the mother force should be gentle and appropriate, otherwise it may aggravate the child discomfort Oh! The mother can press and rub the child’s foot three points to help alleviate the pain when it occurs. The method is to use both thumbs to rub the foot three points of the legs (located three inches below the knee, a horizontal finger on the outside of the shin bone), to have a sore and swollen feeling after insisting on 3 to 5 minutes, gastrointestinal growth pain can be significantly reduced.