Nearly all children experience occasional tummy trouble that’s usually no cause for alarm but it’s important to learn what to do if your child has a digestive disorder.
However, the younger set isn’t immune from problems and sometimes, repeated upset warrants a trip to the doctor to unearth the underlying cause.
Discovering your child has a digestive disorder can feel overwhelming.
However, you play a pivotal role in helping them adjust and thrive despite their condition.
Here’s what to do.
Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash
Table of Contents
Discover the Cause
Fortunately, digestive disorders rarely put your child in life-threatening danger, although failure to treat the underlying cause can lead to more severe ongoing problems.
Few conditions warrant immediate surgery, including obstructions, perforations, blood flow blockage or an abdominal abscess.
While abscesses, acute mesenteric ischemia and appendicitis occur rarely, the others generally result from accidents.
However, that doesn’t negate the importance of seeking timely help.
For example, autoimmune disorders such as Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can result in nutritional deficiencies that hinder your child’s development.
Some patients need supplemental nutrition via tubes to thrive.
Furthermore, these conditions can lead to scar tissue formation in your child’s GI tract, causing a stricture or stenosis requiring surgery.
However, please try not to panic before you talk to your pediatrician.
Most childhood intestinal trouble stems from indigestion, a mild infection or stress.
Please remember that your child’s digestive problems likely frighten them, too.
Therefore, the peace of mind you can get from your doctor’s visit can be curative, allowing your little one to relax, secure in the knowledge that they aren’t in immediate danger.
Modify Their Diet
Another common cause of childhood digestive disorders stems from food allergies.
Although most don’t cause permanent damage, some can be quite severe.
For example, celiac disease refers to a severe immune reaction to gluten, a wheat protein.
Left untreated, it can lead to other autoimmune disorders, including Type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
It can also trigger severe migraines, even epileptic seizures in some.
How can you determine if your child has a food allergy?
The speediest route is testing.
However, this method often doesn’t determine whether your little one will react to a specific substance when eaten — it’s more useful at ruling out possibilities through negative results.
Nor can it tell you how severe the reaction will be if it occurs.
An elimination diet is often more precise but can tax your little one, especially at first.
If you’re working with a nutritionist, they’ll provide you with a restricted diet to follow.
Otherwise, you can design your own, including only those foods that haven’t caused digestive trouble in the past.
For example, you might try the BRAT diet, explained below, complemented by a meal replacement shake for added nutrition.
Gradually reintroduce one food at a time until you discover one that causes an adverse reaction.
When this occurs, avoid the suspect food for at least two weeks, then try it again.
If the symptoms recur, you’ve likely identified at least one of the culprits.
Keep in mind that some food allergies are rare but can produce severe symptoms.
Look at the usual suspects first, like peanuts, soy, wheat and shellfish.
However, keep in mind that people can develop sensitivities to nearly anything, like certain cooking oils, and leaving these symptoms untreated can lead to ongoing problems.
Be BRATty on Bad Days
When your child has a digestive disorder, they may refuse to eat on some days. While you should never force food, a bland yet fibrous diet can help them as they recuperate.
The BRAT diet stands for the following four foods:
- Bananas: These bland fruits provide valuable phytonutrients and fiber. They don’t have a lot of acid to irritate your child’s stomach, and they offer a healthy dose of potassium.
- Rice: This grain helps absorb excess stomach acid while providing filling fiber.
- Applesauce: Applesauce contains pectin, a type of fiber your child’s intestinal bacteria loves.
- Toast: Toast is another bland, fibrous food that absorbs excess acid. Hold the butter, especially if your little one shows sensitivity to dairy.
These foods shouldn’t irritate sensitive stomachs, although they might be too much if your child is actively vomiting.
They provide necessary calories and other nutrients and are easy to chew and digest, and most people aren’t allergic.
Teach Them to Mitigate Stress
Stress isn’t the sole province of adults.
Little ones can experience it, causing digestive distress.
Pay attention to this possible cause, particularly if the pandemic caused significant disruption in their schooling, or your family suffered economic hardship.
Fortunately, the same stress mitigation techniques for grownups also help children.
Mindfully coloring a picture is one way to reduce cortisol levels, a stress hormone that can indirectly lead to digestive upset.
Children can also participate in yoga, even guided meditation.
Use age-appropriate terms, such as “Darth Vader breathing,” and keep sessions short and sweet.
Get Them on a Medication Schedule
If your child’s pediatrician discovers an underlying condition such as Crohn’s disease causes your child’s digestive disorder, they may prescribe medication.
Help your little one get on track with their dosage schedule.
Help them use an app to set reminders to take oral medications at the same time each day.
Assist them with needles on injectable prescriptions until they feel comfortable with the technique.
What to Do If Your Child Has a Digestive Disorder
Stomach troubles in childhood usually don’t indicate anything serious.
However, they can signify a digestive disorder that requires medical intervention.
Follow the steps above to identify the underlying cause and best treatment course if your child has a digestive disorder.
You can develop a protocol with your doctor that allows your little one to live a rich and happy life.
