Functional Abdominal Pain In Children: Symptoms And Treatment

If your child suffers from stomach pain and you can not find any cause, he or she may have functional abdominal pain.

It got its name because it is not caused by a digestive disease or any other medical problem or clinical condition. But it can probably disturb so much in daily life.

What is functional abdominal pain in children?

Doctors are not sure where this condition comes from. However, it can be due to a disturbance in the communication between the intestines and the nervous system, and also the immune system. It occurs in stressful situations or is a sign of hypersensitivity to pain.

Recurrent abdominal pain refers to 2 or more episodes of abdominal pain over a period of 3 months that interfere with normal activity.

Chronic abdominal pain (CAD) is one of the most common causes of visits to BVC. It affects between 2-4% of children and 7-25% of young people.

Data in Science Direct show that 10-15% of school-age children suffer from this. It is most common between the ages of 5 and 8 years and then comes back during adolescence.

How to diagnose functional abdominal pain in children

The diagnosis itself is complicated because it is important to rule out other conditions. For example, you need to make sure your child does not have irritable bowel syndrome, functional dyspepsia or abdominal migraine.

Also, you need to make sure that he does not have any type of food intolerance. In these cases, your child must receive special treatment.

You must also find out any events that may have caused stress, such as tests, activities, the death of a loved one, a divorce, etc. These can also affect the digestive system, irritate it and cause more or less severe pain.

Warning signs

To begin with, your child will undergo a physical examination to assess his condition and health. By touching the abdomen, the doctor can see if there is tension, gas or inflammation.

On the other hand, remember that certain symptoms mean that the pain is actually caused by a certain disease. It is important to tell your doctor if you notice any of these signs:

• Fever for no apparent reason
• Weight loss
• Anal injuries
• Traces of blood in the stool
• Recurrent diarrhea
• Changes in the child’s growth
• Abdominal pain on the right side
• Persistent vomiting
• Family history of any intestinal disease, such as stomach ulcer or gluten intolerance

Treatment for functional abdominal pain

As you can see, this type of pain does not lead to any serious condition and it is not due to any serious underlying problems. However, it will make your child uncomfortable.

Therefore, your doctor will decide if you should use any medicine. Paracetamol is usually very effective.

In addition, there are some solutions that can help relieve functional abdominal pain in children. For example, you can give them a massage or apply heat. Sometimes stress management may be needed.

How to talk to children about this

It’s not about making them believe it’s just in their head because it could make it worse. But you need to make it clear that they do not have to worry so much, and that it is important to learn to deal with pain.

In addition, they must understand that they have no disease, even if they feel real pain. Explain that they are loved, and that many other children feel the same way.

As you can see, functional abdominal pain in children is quite common. Even if there is no reason to worry, keep an eye on them and make sure they do not have any other symptoms that you should discuss with your doctor.

In general, these symptoms go away as the children get older.