Symptoms of bloating in babies

Now more and more parents are paying more attention to the physical health of their babies. In addition, many parents are having children for the first time, so naturally they don’t know how to take care of their babies. They don’t know the symptoms of bloating in their babies, so when they go to the hospital for examination, the condition is quite serious. The baby’s bloating usually manifests itself in the form of crying, and the child will also be restless, refuse to eat, vomit frequently, and have a stiff abdomen.

Common symptoms of gas in babies

In addition, what symptoms will the baby have when he has bloating? For a common type of "infant colic" (colic of early infancy) within three months, due to the immaturity of the central nervous system, bloating often causes recurrent abdominal pain and crying. The symptoms occur more often in the evening. The baby will feel restless, have a flushed face, bent legs and a stiff abdominal wall, and is often accompanied by smelly farts.

In terms of treatment, topical application of wind-repellent oil or covering with a warm towel can also help. Changing the baby's position, such as sleeping on the stomach, will make the baby feel safe, and the stomach will be compressed, thus improving the symptoms. However, when sleeping on the stomach, you should pay attention to the mattress not being too soft to avoid suffocating the baby. This disease has a very good prognosis and most of them disappear on their own when the baby is four to five months old.

Another type of bloating caused by lactose intolerance is sometimes a sequela of enteritis, and sometimes there is "racial" lactose intolerance in Oriental peoples, which is more likely to occur in older children between the ages of three and five. For example, after a child goes to kindergarten, if he drinks more dairy products, he will suffer from bloating and stomach pain. These conditions will improve after he stops drinking milk. At this time, you can choose "low-lactose formula milk powder".

From this we can see that the way to relieve flatulence is to gently pat the baby's back after feeding to make him burp so that the gas can be discharged smoothly; or apply baby peppermint oil and massage the baby's abdomen, which will help intestinal peristalsis and expel the flatulence through farting. And prevent bloating by avoiding letting the baby be hungry for too long before feeding, and soothing the baby to prevent him from crying. Both children and adults should eat less foods containing indigestible, low-level polysaccharides, because they will ferment and produce gas in the digestive tract, such as sweet potatoes, French fries, beans, melons, etc.

Flatulence caused by organ disease

How to tell if your baby's bloating is just benign gas or troublesome bloating? Including:

(1) Enlarged organs or tumors in the abdominal cavity: Such as hepatosplenomegaly, cirrhosis, etc. The organs and tissues in the abdominal cavity may develop tumors, and the larger the tumor grows, the more it will cause abdominal distension.

(2) Intestinal obstruction: Generally, upper gastrointestinal obstruction is more likely to cause vomiting, while lower intestinal obstruction is mainly characterized by abdominal distension. Intestinal obstruction in infants and young children, including severe complete obstruction, is often discovered soon after birth due to obvious symptoms. However, if the blockage is incomplete, it may still be missed after a long delay. As mentioned earlier, congenital megacolon is caused by the incomplete development of the intestinal ganglia from top to bottom during embryonic development, which stops the development and causes the end of the large intestine to be unable to relax, causing the normal large intestine above to swell very large. In addition to the baby's significant abdominal distension, there is usually delayed passage of meconium or constipation.

(3) Ascites: There are many causes of ascites, including liver cirrhosis leading to protein production dysfunction, nephrotic syndrome in which protein is lost in the urine, or intestinal diseases in which protein is excreted in the stool.

Tapping the abdomen to understand symptoms

So if parents find that their baby has a bloated belly, is there a problem, and does it require further examination or treatment? Generally speaking, if the baby has normal activity, can play, eat, and defecate, does not vomit, and the belly feels soft and the weight gain is normal, then this type of abdominal distension is mostly benign. When the doctor examines the baby, he or she will tap the baby's belly and listen to the tapping sound to determine whether the baby has enlarged abdominal organs, a tumor, or ascites. If it is just a "pop" sound that makes a hollow, popping sound, the mother does not need to be nervous.

However, if the baby has other discomforts, such as respiratory tract infection, enteritis or constipation, or symptoms such as loss of appetite, you should ask a doctor for treatment. Mothers should never buy medicine for the baby on their own, so as to avoid making the baby's condition worse due to the side effects of the medicine.

For example: If a baby has diarrhea due to bacterial enteritis, the bacteria and other objects in his intestines should be expelled to avoid causing bad stimulation. At this time, if adults buy antidiarrheal drugs that inhibit intestinal peristalsis and give them to the baby, it may cause serious toxic megacolon and even perforation, causing peritonitis and causing danger.

It may be understandable to apply Tiger Balm or peppermint oil that you always have at home to relieve flatulence, but if the baby's condition does not improve and the baby has intermittent labor pains or crying like during childbirth, it may be "intussusception". Parents should take him to see a doctor as soon as possible. If you wait until the baby vomits green bile or something like stool, it will be too late.