Focus on what recurrent abdominal pain in children is all about

  In pediatric clinics, you can often find such small patients who come to the clinic with abdominal pain, but during the consultation, they can’t say where the pain is; or they are screaming in pain at home, but once they see the doctor in the hospital, they say it doesn’t hurt anymore, which makes parents confused and even think the child is lying.  This is not a lie, but a very typical symptom. It is a pediatric condition that is medically known as pediatric recurrent abdominal pain. The so-called pediatric recurrent abdominal pain refers to at least three episodes of discontinuous abdominal pain in children within a period of about three months, with irregular abdominal pain, without obvious triggers, and relieving on its own. Generally the abdominal pain is located in the upper abdomen, and the localization is not precise; in children, it often refers to the umbilical circumference or the whole abdomen. Some children’s pain is not intense and does not affect the child’s play, appetite, sleep, so once the tension, a fresh stimulus, the child’s goal is shifted, immediately do not feel the pain. However, some children have more intense attacks, often with indigestion, anorexia and other symptoms, and in serious cases, combined with vomiting, frequent attacks will affect the learning and growth of children.  In the past, 90% of these children were considered to have functional abdominal pain, but with the improvement of diagnosis and the introduction of ultrasound, CT, CB breath test and gastrointestinal endoscopy technology into pediatrics, many children with recurrent abdominal pain were found to have organic lesions of the gastrointestinal tract, bile and pancreas. Pediatricians then divided recurrent abdominal pain into two categories, namely, organic recurrent abdominal pain and functional recurrent abdominal pain.  Organic recurrent abdominal pain is commonly due to inflammation or ulceration of the stomach or 12 fingers. Compared to adults, children have no typical clinical symptoms, irregular pain, and no history of acid reflux or belching. Pediatric gastrointestinal inflammation and ulcers are more superficial, and barium x-ray examinations are often negative until exacerbation, gastrointestinal bleeding, or even ulcer perforation is detected. Secondly, organic recurrent abdominal pain can also be caused by esophagitis, inflammatory bowel disease, recurrent intestinal obstruction, constipation, pancreatitis, biliary tract inflammation, abdominal epilepsy, intestinal parasites and many other factors, which must be carefully investigated based on symptoms and signs. Therefore, once a child has abdominal pain, parents must pay attention to it, take the child to the hospital and find an experienced doctor to do appropriate tests to clarify the cause and cure it completely. Functional recurrent abdominal pain can be caused by both physical and psychological factors. The most common psychological factors are mental tension or depression, family disharmony, parental divorce, fear of school, aversion to certain foods, etc.; physical factors are mostly caused by children in the neurodevelopmental stage, unstable plant nerve function, poor intestinal function, etc. Some genetic qualities can also cause abdominal pain. Parents must give care and love, do not arbitrarily accuse it is deceptive behavior, should carefully find the root cause, remove the cause, avoid seizures. In the event of an attack, the child should be given care, soothe the abdomen, or use a warm towel, or use some antispasmodic agents to promote normal gastrointestinal function.