The child complains of stomachache after eating

Many children have been picky eaters since childhood, and children nowadays are very smart. When they encounter food they don’t like or don’t suit their taste, they will say that they have a stomachache and can’t eat. Some children will feel a stomachache after eating, so they have a resistance to eating. But most parents think that this is an excuse for their children to be picky about food. In fact, if a child suffers from mesenteric lymphadenopathy, he or she will have stomach pain after eating.

1. Case

My son often complains of stomachache after meals, but it’s not severe and doesn’t last long. Generally, after the pain starts, you go to the toilet and everything will be fine after that. Last time I had a cold and a severe cough, I went to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor took X-rays, did a color ultrasound, and gave me some intravenous fluids. You mentioned "swollen abdominal lymph nodes", I wonder if it has anything to do with stomach pain? What is the reason?

2. The child's stomachache after eating may be related to enlarged mesenteric lymph nodes

Children's abdominal pain is directly related to "mesenteric lymphadenopathy", which is a very common disease in pediatrics. The onset of the disease is related to factors such as repeated colds, intestinal inflammation, parasitic diseases, low immunity and frequent consumption of spicy foods. Anti-inflammatory treatment is required when an attack occurs. There is currently no special cure, so prevention is the main focus, avoiding colds and excessive fatigue, eating less spicy food, etc. The condition will gradually improve as you get older and your immunity strengthens.

3. Mesenteric lymph node enlargement

1. Criteria for lymphadenopathy

There is currently no unified standard in China for judging lymph node enlargement. However, most domestic scholars believe that if more than three lymph nodes appear in one section in the internal mesenteric region, and the longest diameter of the largest lymph node is greater than 1.0 cm, the short diameter is greater than 0.5 cm, and the long diameter/short diameter is greater than 2, this situation can be determined as lymphadenopathy.

2. Conditions that must be met for the diagnosis of lymphadenitis

First, it has common symptoms of lymphadenitis such as fever, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting;

Second, go to the hospital for an examination and have imaging tests to prove lymph node enlargement;

Third, if there was a history of upper respiratory tract infection before the onset of the disease, a routine blood test would show that the white blood cell count was normal or slightly elevated, and other causes of mesenteric lymphadenitis such as appendicitis and intussusception could be ruled out.