This confusion can lead to excessive dramatization or, conversely, to an insufficiently serious attitude towards the situation; in both cases the reaction will be inadequate, the treatment will be delayed. What gastrointestinal diseases of children exist and how to overcome them, find out in the article on "Infectious gastrointestinal diseases in a child".
Food poisoning
Food poisoning, especially in summer, is usually caused by salmonella and refers to the types of gastroenteritis, which are the most common cause of treatment in the "First Aid". Gastroenteritis - a disease of the stomach and intestines, it causes a bacterial or viral infection. It can be infected by contact with a patient. The spread of the disease sometimes takes the scale of the epidemic. Another way of infection is the consumption of contaminated water or stale food. Symptoms of gastroenteritis and salmonellosis usually appear 1-3 days after infection, including diarrhea and vomiting, heat and stomach cramps. The group of the highest risk includes children, as well as elderly and sick people, who are especially vulnerable due to susceptibility to dehydration, which increases gastroenteritis. It is important to take into account preventive measures, especially in the summer:
- Keep an eye out for the freshness of the eggs and dishes they are composed of - mayonnaise, salads, sauces, open pies and desserts.
- Green salad, raw fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly washed.
- If you eat outside the house, pay attention to the storage and handling of poultry, fish and meat.
- Buy seafood only from reliable sellers.
- Be careful with raw fish, sausages, cold meat.
- The baby bottle for feeding should be sterilized and kept in immaculate cleanliness.
- Drinking water should be bottled or boiled.
Botulism
This infectious disease causes toxins of Clostridium botulinum bacillus, the result of their action may be paralysis of the nervous system. There are 3 types of botulism: food botulism (when eating food contaminated with toxins), infant botulism (with the spread of microorganisms in the intestines, where they release toxins that are absorbed and cause symptoms) and botulism of wounds (reproduction of clostridia in wounds). The most frequent symptoms are dry mouth, double vision, difficulty in treating related subjects, difficulty swallowing and speech. Abdominal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, spasms and diarrhea) can manifest simultaneously with those listed above or before them. Acute and chronic abdominal pain, colic. Pain in the abdomen often occurs in children, can have different forms and duration. Acute pain can cause:
- Acute gastroenteritis.
- Colic. If the pain in the abdomen of the child occurred simultaneously with crying, bending the legs, pallor, lethargy, the appearance of blood in the vomit or feces, the doctor should be contacted immediately. Even if all these phenomena are caused simply by colic, medical intervention is necessary to establish the exact cause.
- Accumulation of gases (flatulence).
- Appendicitis. Constant pain is supplemented by fever, vomiting and constipation, the pain gradually concentrates in the lower right side of the abdominal cavity.
- If the pain is accompanied by urologic symptoms and pain in the lumbar region, as well as heat, it can indicate an infection of the genitourinary system (cystitis, pyelonephritis).
- Other causes: pancreatitis, peritonitis. In these cases, the pain is accompanied by a high fever, the abdomen is solid, the general physical condition is very poor. If the abdominal pain becomes chronic (that is, it resumes several times a month), there may also be several reasons:
- Perhaps, the pain is associated with irritation of the intestine, especially in easily excitable and temperamental children.
- Pain can be the result of relapses of pancreatitis, kidney and gallbladder diseases, colic, etc.
With acute pain in the abdomen, which arose for the first time, the doctor will make a decision based on the results of the examination and anamnesis. Pain can be caused both by cases requiring urgent surgical intervention, for example, appendicitis, and not so dangerous diseases. Sometimes it is useful to observe the patient for several hours to make an accurate diagnosis.
Appendicitis
Of the common gastrointestinal diseases that occur in the first 10 years of life, appendicitis is the most frequent. Due to the fact that the abdominal cavity is covered with a membrane - the peritoneum, the inflammation of the appendix can quickly spread and cause a serious and life-threatening disease - peritonitis. The most striking symptom of appendicitis is pain, which initially is not localized, but eventually concentrates in the lower right side of the abdominal cavity (ileum region). This pain can be either continuous or intermittent. The child pulls his right foot to the abdomen to relieve the pain, but does not touch the hard part of the abdomen, in which the pain is felt. Vomiting and nausea are also possible (in some cases, before the onset of pain). Other symptoms include fever, headache, discomfort caused by light and noise, shortness of breath, smooth tongue.
Hepatitis
This is an inflammation of the liver, usually associated with a viral infection. Inflammation can have a different severity, sometimes even leads to destruction of liver tissue. There are many viruses that can cause hepatitis in children.
- Viruses that cause hepatitis: to date, identified 6 major species - hepatitis A, B, C, D, E and G.
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) refers to the family of herpes viruses, it is transmitted from person to person.
- The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is usually associated with infectious mononucleosis.
- Herpes simplex virus (HSV) mainly affects the face, the skin above the waist and genitals.
- Chickenpox virus (VZV), because one of the complications of chicken pox can be hepatitis.
- Enteroviruses: a group of viruses often found in children, such as the Coxsackie virus, causing aphthous pharyngitis, or echovirus.
- Ruby virus, causing rubella.
- Parvovirus, often referred to as the "fifth disease", is characterized by a rash on the face, from which blush cheeks.
Hepatitis A is the most common type of hepatitis in children. It causes the eponymous virus. Usually, infection with such hepatitis occurs when contact with feces, as well as when consuming food or water contaminated with faeces that contain the virus. Hepatitis A is also transmitted through cutlery, which was previously used by the carrier of the infection.
Symptoms resemble the symptoms of influenza:
- Heat, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea.
- Loss of appetite, lethargy, pain or discomfort in the abdomen, pain in the muscles and joints.
- Itching and red spots on the skin.
- Darkening of the urine and icterus (yellowness of the skin and sclera).
The doctor will diagnose on the basis of anamnesis and the results of laboratory tests. Ultrasound and liver biopsy are recommended in some cases associated with rare forms of hepatitis.
Intestinal parasites
Intestinal parasites are organisms that consume nutrients contained in the human body and inhabit the gastrointestinal tract. Most parasites can be divided into 2 main groups:
- Protozoa, microspores (amoebae, guardia, cryptosporidia) and multicellular, that is worms, for example, round (oxyuras, ascarids, trichocephales, hookworms, nekator, strongyloid, toxocar). Symptoms of parasitic diseases depend on what they are caused; In many
How to avoid parasitic diseases:
If the purity of water is doubtful, it should be boiled, filtered, ozonized and then drunk. Fresh foods, especially fruits and vegetables, should be thoroughly washed before drinking with drinking water. It is important to teach the child to wash their hands before eating, after going to the toilet and, most importantly, after playing in the sand. The child should not walk barefoot where there may be sources of infection. All relatives of a child who has had a parasitic disease must pass a feces for analysis, even if they do not have any symptoms, they can be parasites. The effectiveness of home remedies is not confirmed, so do not use laxatives, do not replace the treatment with enemas and the like. In cases with these diseases, there is no discomfort at all. Protozoa cause mainly intestinal symptoms (diarrhea, swelling and abdominal pain); multicellular not only give these symptoms, but also general discomfort (weakness, pallor, weight loss, progressive nutritional deficiency, anemia, chronic cough, itching, etc.).
Genitourinary infections
Infections of the genitourinary system, as a rule, are of bacterial origin, especially frequent infections of the urethra (urethritis), bladder (cystitis) and kidneys (pyelonephritis). Genitourinary infections in childhood (usually in the first 2 years) are more common than in any other period of life. In addition, in childhood these diseases are especially difficult: in young children generalization of infection, sepsis and meningitis may occur, in older children, genito-urinary infections, especially with relapses, cause kidney dysfunction and lead to chronic kidney diseases. In young children (aged 1-2 years), the only symptom may be fever. Other symptoms: cloudy urine with putrefactive odor, not enough rapid weight gain, vomiting, constant crying, etc. Because in young children it is difficult to recognize urinary infections by symptoms, physicians often have to confirm the diagnosis of urinalysis. In older children, symptoms are associated with urination - burning, constant urges, sometimes urine is with blood, turbid, with putrefactive odor. If the infection has affected the kidneys (pyelonephritis), fever, vomiting, pain on the right or left side of the lumbar region (in the lower back, on either side of the spine) are possible. In all cases, a generous drink is recommended. If the temperature rises, give the child the usual antipyretic drugs (paracetamol, ibuprofen, etc.). Now we know what infectious gastrointestinal diseases are.