Digestive disorders:
Constipation in infants and children is one of the most common problems, as it includes disorders of the digestive system, and it concerns different age groups in children, and it is a worrying situation for parents.
Normal defecation in children:
It is worth mentioning that the normal process of defecation in children is when the child eats the food meal that passes towards the small intestine, then the large intestine, and the waste accumulates and exits gradually until it reaches the end of the intestine, where there is a slight pressure that the child feels to relieve himself.
The number of times children defecate varies according to age, as newborn babies in the first month can do this process at a rate of 8 times a day.
And gradually the process decreases at the rate of once a day, twice or 3 times, and after the age of 6 months it can become once or twice depending on the quality of breastfeeding, diet and physical activity.
The concept of arrest in children:
It is possible to talk about cases of constipation in children when the defecation process does not exceed an average of 3 times a week.
And when there is difficulty in defecation or when defecation on a daily basis and the stool is hard and dry
When should a doctor be consulted?
If you feel anxious, you should see a doctor.
Symptoms:
Symptoms of difficulty defecation include flatulence and frequent pain in the stomach and abdomen.
And the feeling of nausea, vomiting, and the secretion of liquid stools, which is the result of the constipation reaching advanced stages, in addition to the presence of blood in the stool, which could be due to a wound or other diseases.
And there are symptoms common to children and infants, while there are other symptoms specific to each age group, especially when they eat solid foods.
the reasons:
There are many reasons and they can be divided into organic reasons and functional reasons
Most of the reasons for arrests are primarily functional.
Reasons for seizures in infants and newborns:
The organic causes in these people, and the most common is a disease that affects a part of the intestine in which there are no nerve cells, which causes it to lose its function, and this causes the accumulation of waste and intestinal obstruction, so it must be diagnosed early.
Normally, the child's stool is black in color, and the process lasts for 48 hours immediately after birth. Therefore, the mother must observe the condition, and in the absence of this type of stool, she must visit the doctor.
Among the organic causes are also birth defects at the level of the anus or the presence of problems at the level of the spinal cord, and the doctor can examine the area in the lower back to notice signs of the presence of this disease.
And also a disorder of the functioning of the thyroid glands, so it must be diagnosed early to avoid complications.
Functional causes in infants and newborns:
There is an absence of the defecation process in some newborns who have not yet reached the stage of eating, and it is a condition that is not worrisome and may be more severe in children who are not breastfed, as it can be because the child learns the way to defecate
And some of the practices that the mother does is using some suppositories and thermometers to help her child in the defecation process, which are wrong and harmful methods for the child and disrupt the learning process.
Children in the eating stage:
And for children in the eating phase, a decline in the level of growth can be observed in conjunction with constipation, a condition that may be the result of an organic defect at the level of the intestine and sensitivity to cow protein...
And also as a result of taking some medications such as anemia medications.
Functional causes are the result of many factors, including hereditary factors, an unbalanced diet in which fiber and fluids are absent, and excessive consumption of milk and its derivatives beyond the normal rate.
Also, diapers should not be removed before the age of two years, because they can cause seizures in the child, in addition to the stage of entering school and shyness to go to shared bathrooms.
And you should drink fluids in hot weather and avoid stress.
Complications:
It is not necessary to reach the stage of complications and treatment early in order to avoid reaching the stage of hemorrhoids in children.
Infection with a wound due to accumulated waste in the anus, the appearance of the germ in the urine, or reaching the stage of involuntary defecation, which affects the psychological state of the child.
It is also possible to reach the stage of hernia at the abdominal level as a result of pressure.
