What to do when the child has abdominal pain around the navel?

The article is professionally consulted by Doctor Nguyen Thai Ngoc Chau - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec Phu Quoc International General Hospital.

Abdominal pain in children is a very common condition, it is a normal physiological manifestation or sometimes a manifestation of some disease, if not detected and treated early, it can directly affect health. of children.

Children with abdominal pain around the navel can be caused by many different causes, some children have acute abdominal pain but also children have chronic long-term abdominal pain.
When having acute abdominal pain, children often have writhing pain, crying, pale skin, cold sweat. In this case, parents must calm down and quickly take the child to the nearest hospital to be examined and handled by a doctor. The main causes of acute abdominal pain around the umbilicus in children are appendicitis, intussusception, obstructed hernia....
Some possible causes of abdominal pain around the umbilicus in children include:
Because children have intestinal obstruction: Intestinal obstruction not only causes abdominal pain in children, but it is also accompanied by symptoms such as vomiting green bile, yellow bile, distended abdomen...; Food poisoning can also be the cause of abdominal pain around the belly button. Food poisoning is classified as an emergency disease, patients are often accompanied by fever, loose stools, abdominal cramps...; Worm infection is one of the causes of abdominal pain around the umbilicus, children with worm abdominal pain often recur many times, when tested, there are worm eggs in the stool, when ultrasound may see the whole picture. photo of roundworms; Urinary tract stones are also one of the causes of severe abdominal pain around the navel in children, but this rate is not much;

Children with abdominal pain around the navel cannot be ignored, because it can be a warning sign of a dangerous disease. As soon as you see a child with severe abdominal pain around the navel accompanied by signs of blood in the stool, lack of appetite, flatulence, bloating, vomiting, etc., it is necessary to quickly take the child to the nearest medical facility for treatment. examination.
Parents are absolutely not allowed to arbitrarily give their children any treatment drugs without a doctor's prescription, arbitrarily taking drugs before the examination will falsify the results, especially for schools. In case of abdominal pain around the umbilicus requiring emergency surgery such as intussusception, intestinal obstruction, hernia obstruction, appendicitis....
In addition, parents should take the child to a regular health check-up to detect the disease and get it right. effective treatment before they recur.

When a child's colic condition persists for many days or the child has abdominal pain accompanied by the following symptoms, parents must take the child to the hospital immediately:
Blood in the stool Unexplained weight loss Yellow fever Swelling or pain in the lower abdomen Severe abdominal pain Nausea and vomiting that does not stop

To determine the cause of abdominal pain around the belly button in children, doctors will first review the child's medical history and perform a physical exam. Depending on the individual case, the child may have some additional tests such as:
Conduct blood tests to evaluate the blood cell count and electrolyte levels in the body; Conduct a urinalysis to rule out kidney stones or urinary tract infection (UTI); Conduct fecal samples to check for pathogens; Conduct imaging tests such as X-rays, CT scans, etc. to help visualize the organs in the baby's abdomen. To ensure safety for the health and future development of their children, parents should not arbitrarily treat abdominal pain around the belly button for children when the cause of this phenomenon is unknown. The best way is still to see a doctor for a suitable solution.
Doctor Nguyen Thai Ngoc Chau has 09 years of experience in the field of Pediatrics - Neonatology, former Deputy Head of Pediatrics Department of Phuong Chau International Hospital (Can Tho). Dr. Chau regularly participates in training courses on child nutrition, pediatric emergency resuscitation, pediatric pathology treatment.