Does a child feel pain when he has a hernia?

Children are prone to hernia problems shortly after birth. This is a common disease that endangers the health of infants and young children. You may not pay attention to it at the beginning, but once a hernia is discovered, it needs to be treated in time. Children don’t seem to have any reaction when they have a hernia. So does hernia hurt? Let’s learn about it together today.

Pediatric hernia, also known as inguinal hernia, is the most common disease in pediatric general surgery. Any male can get a hernia, and the older they are, the greater the chance. Hernias in children may occur days, months, or years after birth. Usually when a child is crying, exercising vigorously, or has dry stools, there will be a protruding lump in the groin, which sometimes extends to the scrotum or labia area; it will disappear on its own when the child lies flat or is pressed with the hands.

In the early stages of pediatric hernia, the swelling may disappear when the child lies flat and quiet; as the intra-abdominal pressure continues to increase, the swelling may drop into the scrotum. At this time, if the factors causing increased intra-abdominal pressure can be eliminated, and the child can be made to lie flat, or the swelling can be gently pushed toward the abdominal cavity, the swelling can return to the abdominal cavity through the channel through which the testicle descends, and the swelling disappears. This situation is called reducible hernia.

If the tumor cannot be returned to the abdominal cavity, the abdominal pain will intensify, the child will cry incessantly, and then symptoms of intestinal obstruction such as vomiting, abdominal distension, and difficulty defecation will appear. At this time, an oval swelling can be seen in the groin or scrotum, which is hard in texture and painful to touch. If the intestine cannot be retracted for a long time, serious complications such as intestinal ischemia and necrosis may occur.

Therefore, even if the symptoms of hernia in children are relatively mild, they should be treated promptly, otherwise the hernia problem will easily worsen. If the hernia becomes more severe, it will cause great pain to the child. Hernias only occur in boys, so if it's a girl, there's no need to worry.