Intestinal obstruction due to food in children: Avoid confusion with constipation, digestive disorders

Intestinal obstruction is divided into 2 types: functional intestinal obstruction and mechanical intestinal obstruction.
Functional intestinal obstruction: Seen in patients with paralytic ileus, electrolyte disorders, having a stroke, having to lie down for a long time... Mechanical intestinal obstruction: Due to constriction such as a twisted intestine or a ligament causing strangulation; due to blockage, due to tumor, due to worms or food residue... Intestinal obstruction due to food is the phenomenon of a patient with a mass of food residue that forms in the stomach and then moves down to obstruct the small intestine. Usually, cases of intestinal obstruction due to food must be treated with surgery to remove the scum mass.
This condition is more common in children than adults. When a child has intestinal obstruction in the early stages, it is often difficult to identify because it is easy to mistake it for a child with constipation or a child with a common digestive disorder.

Intestinal obstruction in children occurs very quickly and progresses severely, causing damage to the intestinal wall. The intestinal segment above the obstruction will be distended and distended, increasing pressure in the intestinal lumen, causing venous stasis and reduced capillary perfusion, causing damage to the intestinal mucosa, edema, and congestion leading to reduction and loss of blood flow. absorption process. In addition, children will also vomit a lot, reducing fluid retention on the blockage, causing additional dehydration and electrolyte disturbances, acid-base balance, easily leading to extremely dangerous kidney failure.

Causes of intestinal obstruction in children due to food can be listed as:
Food has too many tough, fibrous and difficult to digest fibers. Children are in the case of reduced gastric acid, pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, pancreatitis, pancreatic insufficiency. Especially children at the age of teething or teething, the ability to chew is poor and do not know how to grumble... so it leads to difficulty in digestion and makes them easy to accumulate to form a large mass and cause intestinal obstruction. .

Signs of intestinal obstruction in children due to food residue:
Abdominal pain: When a child is blocked by intestinal obstruction due to food residue, there will be sudden or severe abdominal pain, the intensity of the pain is increasingly intense, pain is usually located above the navel, around the left or right belly button, in the pelvis and spreads quickly to the whole abdomen; Nausea, vomiting: When a child has an intestinal obstruction due to food, the child will often vomit or have nausea accompanied by abdominal distention. However, parents often subjectively think that the child is vomiting. Accompanied by nausea and vomiting, children will have pain due to increased peristalsis and antiperistalsis. When intestinal obstruction is caused by food residue, the vomit is first food, then bile and digestive juices. When the child vomits stool, the signs of intestinal obstruction are too late. Constipation: Usually, this symptom is often subjective and ignored by parents because they think this is a condition of constipation in children. Constipation of defecation shows a blockage in the circulation of substances in the intestinal lumen, and bowel obstruction is also a decisive clinical symptom for the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction.

If intestinal obstruction due to food in children is not diagnosed and treated in time, it can lead to unpredictable complications such as intestinal perforation or milder complications such as poor appetite or anorexia, dehydration, weight loss. weight loss, enteritis...
Early diagnosis of intestinal obstruction in children is often difficult. The reason is that the abdominal ultrasound did not show the food residue, the abdominal X-ray also showed negative results. Therefore, the best way is for parents to carefully control the food for children. If after eating, the child has abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody stools or cannot urinate, parents need to take the child immediately to the hospital to prevent timely complications.

To prevent intestinal obstruction in children, parents should:
Carefully control food and observe when children eat foods with a lot of plastic or fiber. For fruits with a lot of plastic such as sapodilla, persimmon, mulberry, figs ... or high-fiber vegetables such as bamboo shoots ... it is best that parents do not give children too much and do not eat too much. Children should be allowed to eat when they are hungry (because being too hungry can cause children to eat quickly, not chew properly, food clumps together, then persists in the stomach for a long time to form a mass of pulp, easily leading to intestinal obstruction or possibly perforation. intestines, very dangerous for children).

Children's food is best cooked or simmered... In addition, you can cook more viscous vegetables such as jute, spinach, okra for children, because these have soluble fiber Soluble with water, easy to absorb water to prevent constipation in children. Advise children to chew food thoroughly when eating and to provide adequate amounts of water for children every day. Vinmec International General Hospital with a system of modern facilities, medical equipment and a team of experts and doctors with many years of experience in neurological examination and treatment, patients can completely rest in peace. examination and treatment center at the Hospital.
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