7 yr. old in pain

[Meem]

Off and on,for the past year, my 7 year old son has been having some pain during bowel movements. He describes the pain as a dull, sickening pain, never a sharp pain. He says the pain is around his belly button and lower abdomen. Most of the time he becomes pale, sweaty, and weak. On a few occasions, the pain was so bad that he would hold his stomach and cry. We went to the doctors during one of these extremely painful experiences. The doctor felt my sons abdomen and found nothing. He seemed to dismiss what we were saying and said my son had gas. Does this sound like a twisted intestine or some kind of blockage? Do we need to see a specialist?

[Beaker]

I found this information and I thought of you.  Hope your son feels better soon.  

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a digestive disorder that causes abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and constipation--or some combination of these problems. IBS affects people of all ages, including children.
IBS is classified as a functional disorder because it is caused by a problem in how the intestines, or bowels, work. People with IBS tend to have overly sensitive intestines that have muscle spasms in response to food, gas, and sometimes stress. These spasms may cause pain, diarrhea, and constipation.

In children, IBS tends to be either diarrhea-predominant or pain-predominant. Diarrhea-predominant IBS is most common in children under age 3. The diarrhea is usually painless and alternates with bouts of constipation. These children usually have fewer than five stools a day, and the stools tend to be watery and soft. Pain-predominant IBS mainly affects children over age 5. In the younger children the pain tends to occur around the navel area, and in older children, in the lower left part of the abdomen. The pain is crampy and gets worse with eating and better after passing stool or gas.

In addition to the symptoms described above, children with IBS may also have headache, nausea, or mucus in the stool. Weight loss may occur if a child eats less to try to avoid pain. Some children first develop symptoms after a stressful event, such as teething, a bout with the flu, school problems, or problems at home. Stress does not cause IBS, but it can trigger symptoms.

To diagnose IBS, the doctor will ask questions about symptoms and examine the child to rule out the possibility of more serious problems or diseases. IBS is not a disease--it is a syndrome, or group of symptoms that occur together. It does not damage the intestine, so if the physical exam and other tests show no sign of disease or damage, the doctor may diagnose IBS.

In children, IBS is treated mainly through changes in diet--eating more fiber and less fat to help prevent spasms--and through bowel training to teach the child to empty the bowels at regular, specific times during the day. Medications like laxatives are rarely prescribed because children are more susceptible to addiction than adults. When laxatives are necessary, parents must follow the doctor's instructions carefully. Learning stress management techniques may help some children.

More information is available from

International Foundation for Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders
P.O. Box 17864
Milwaukee, WI 53217
Tel: [phone] or [phone]
E-mail: ***@****
Home page: www.iffgd.org/


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Additional Information on Irritable Bowel Syndrome
The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse collects resource information on digestive diseases for the Combined Health Information Database (CHID). CHID is a database produced by health-related agencies of the Federal Government. This database provides titles, abstracts, and availability information for health information and health education resources.

To provide you with the most up-to-date resources, information specialists at the clearinghouse created an automatic search of CHID. To obtain this information you may view the results of the automatic search on Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Or, if you wish to perform your own search of the database, you may access the CHID Online web site and search CHID yourself.



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National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
2 Information Way
Bethesda, MD 20892-3570
E-mail: National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse
The National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) is a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 1980, the clearinghouse provides information about digestive diseases to people with digestive disorders and to their families, health care professionals, and the public. NDDIC answers inquiries; develops, reviews, and distributes publications; and works closely with professional and patient organizations and Government agencies to coordinate resources about digestive diseases.

Publications produced by the clearinghouse are carefully reviewed for scientific accuracy, content, and readability.

This e-text is not copyrighted. The clearinghouse encourages users of this e-pub to duplicate and distribute as many copies as desired.



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NIH Publication No. 99-4640

e-text last updated: February 2000

[Meem]

No, my son does not seem to be holding back his bowel movements. He goes once or twice per day. He doesn't even seem to have a hard time going and his bowel movements are not hard. He actually becomes ill feeling before he feels the need to use the bathroom. He says that his stomach hurts before, during and after he goes. He also does not seem to be under alot of stress, but who really knows...sometimes even the child himself doesn't know. Thanks for your help. I'll look into the stress possibility.

[virgo57]

If your son was in exteme pain even at the doctors..I think the doctor should have done more then just feel his stomach. He may need to have tests done...if your doctor cannot take your son's pain seriously it may be time to get a new doctor.
Something is causing the pain and before you start thinking it's stress or in his head..get him physically checked out..just to rule that out, if it is not anything physical, then check out the other possible causes of what it could be emotionally or stress wise.
take care and I wish you both well

[Beaker]

By chance does your son hold back his Bowel Movement?  Do you think your son is going through something at school or in the neighborhood?  If he is under stress, it could make this happen  Even children can get Irritable Bowel Syndrome and he could very well be one of these children.  Is the bowel movement solid and hard?  It could be he knows it is going to hurt when he has to go and is holding himself.  What I would do is, make a chocolate milk shake with a couple of tablespoons of mineral oil blended in it.  See if that helps him to relieve himself.  I do not recommend doing this all the time but when my son would have this problem, his doctor who was one of the old time doctors, told me to do this.  Give him a multivitamin after he has gone to the bathroom.  Try getting him to eat more fruit, like raisins, grapes or does he like salads?  No bananas, applesauce, or cheese, for a while.  At this age, I don't like giving enemas or using suppostories.  By the way, my son never knew he was getting anything that was going to make him go to the pot.  It taste just that good and you cannot tell the mineral oil is even in it.  I make the shake kind of thick.  I sure hope this helps him.  Let me know how he is doing.