It's not unusual for babies to get stomach ache; baby stomach ache can have several different symptoms and different causes as well. Since babies aren't very afraid to express their feelings and often tell when he or she wants attention you will probably be able to start treating them right away. Since your baby isn't able to talk to you and tell you what's wrong, you need to learn to recognize the symptoms. The better you know your baby, the sooner you'll be able to say when something is wrong. A cause for baby stomach ache isn't always obvious. Babies have a bad habit of touching everything they see and also of putting everything they get their hands on in their mouth. Since virus and bacteria are microscopic, you won't know if your baby has some on him or her. A pair of clean looking hands can in reality be covered in germs. So unfortunately you can't trust your baby! Infant stomach ache usually includes fever, diarrhea and vomiting, but the symptoms are individual. The most common causes to baby stomach ache are colic, stomach flu (also called infant gastroenteritis), constipation, intestinal blockage, lactose intolerance and gastroesophageal reflux or acid reflux. In the following text I will try to explain the most common causes for baby stomach ache and what you can do to sooth your baby's stomach ache. But first some general methods for relieving baby stomach ache.
Cure baby stomach ache
When your baby is sick or in pain, you'll do almost anything to help your child. You may read and hear about a lot of miracle methods to cure baby stomach ache, but before you try any of these, you always have to check with a doctor if your baby will tolerate it. Discuss what you want to try and get advice. There are a lot of herbs that have a documented effect to sooth or cure baby stomach ache. Peppermint is one of them and if your baby is suffering from stomach pain you can try this simple cure: Put a piece of peppermint candy in your baby's bottle with hot water. Let the candy resolve and the water cool a bit and then give it to the baby. Be careful never to give your baby whole pieces of candy or too hot water. Another liquid you can prepare to cure baby stomach ache is a herbal tea of boiled water with fennel seeds. If you're breast feeding your child, you can drink this herbal tea your self some half an hour before feeding your baby. There are many different kinds of gripe water used to cure baby stomach ache. These will help the digestion and relieves baby stomach ache. Some of these gripe waters contain baking soda which will reduce acidity and therefore prevent acid reflux which is a common reason for baby stomach ache.
Babies with colic
Colic is the most common explanation for baby stomach ache and it's different symptoms, a fact is that around 20% percent of all new born babies under 5 months are babies with colic. Colic is when the baby cries uncontrollably for several hours (two to three hours normally). The crying "attacks" often comes when you least expect it since the baby can seem completely healthy, except the crying. For the symptoms to be called colic the baby has to have continuous attacks for three days in a row or more. The crying attacks often come during the same time of day. The symptoms of colic can be seen on the baby's stomach, which can be swollen and red. The reason is because the stomach can be "stressed" and irritated. Remember that colic is not something your child will have forever, it will pass but it can be hard enough experiencing it for several months!
Infant gastroenteritis (stomach flu)
Baby stomach flu, or infant gastroenteritis, is indicated by various symptoms, the two most common are diarrhea and dehydration but also symptoms such as fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, achiness and chills. Infant gastroenteritis includes dehydration and one sign of this is when your baby is crying but the eyes produces no tears. The symptoms of infant gastroenteritis may vary a lot in time and severity, from hours to days. Infant gastroenteritis is a very contagious inflammation on the inside of the digestive tract which result in baby stomach ache. Infant gastroenteritis is also called stomach flu but is actually not caused by the influenza virus. The cause is instead a bacterial infection, parasites or one of many viruses, such as astrovirus and rotavirus.
Intestinal blockage
Intestinal blockage is a blockage somewhere in the gastrointestinal system. One serious variant of this is intussusception. In this kind of intestinal blockage a part of the bowel gets into another part and the consequence is a swelling and inflammation. This may be very dangerous but if recognized in time it can simply be treated. It's a rare condition and occurs mostly in children, mostly boys, of the age 5 months to 3 years. Other lighter variants of intestinal blockage appears most often because of excessive gas in the baby's stomach. When you suspect intestinal blockage to be the cause of baby stomach ache, contact a doctor or go to the ER. Then the condition can be diagnosed and treated in the right way. One method of treating intestinal blockage in babies is to do a so called air enigma and put in an IV. There are many things you can do at home to prevent intestinal blockage and baby stomach ache. For example you can give some light baby massage a while every day. If your baby has abdominal pain, try to put him or her in a battery operated vibrating chair on the baby changing table, this might help to release gas from the stomach. Something that's obvious for many parents, but might be forgotten by others, is how important it is to let your baby burp after eating. Make it a habit to take a slightly rocking stroll with your baby leaning on your shoulder after every meal.
Lactose intolerant baby
If you have a lactose intolerant baby, at least you're lucky to know the reason for a lot of baby stomach ache. A lactose intolerant baby isn't able to break down lactose, a kind of sugar that is found in dairy products like, ice cream, milk, yogurt and cream. This is because there are too little of an enzyme in the stomach which breaks down the lactose. There are varying degrees of lactose intolerance, some children just have to avoid pure milk but can eat other dairy products, while other has to replace every lactose containing food with other things. This doesn't have to be too difficult since there are a lot of replacements to choose between. They are often based on soy or oats and tasted, if bot really like milk, at least very sweet and good. You can also buy capsules with the lactose breaking enzyme at pharmacies. You just sprinkle the enzymes over the food. If you have a lactose intolerant baby which you're breast feeding, you too have to avoid dairy products. Symptoms of lactose intolerance is abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating and excessive gas. A lactose intolerant baby may be able to drink milk etc when he or she becomes older, that is to say, lactose intolerance doesn't have to be a final diagnosis. You should always consult a doctor if you have questions about what your baby might be intolerant to.
Babies with acid reflux
Acid reflux in babies is also called gastroesophageal reflux or GER. What happens in babies with acid reflux is that, after eating, some content from the stomach comes back up through the throat. This is causes by the lower esophageal sphincter (a ring of muscle) which usually only allows food, while the baby's eating, to enter the stomach. It also allows the baby to burp, and some vomit can also come up since the ring of muscle isn't as well controlled in babies as in adults. Sometimes babies suffer from acid reflux during strain, for example while coughing or crying. This is perfectly normal, the baby and its body is only under develop. Every other child under tree months have acid refluxes. Babies with acid reflux can also experience symptoms like irritability, vomiting, coughing, and spitting. Sometimes the baby won't eat as much as usually when having acid reflux. Severe acid reflux in babies is rare or the symptoms occurring during a long time or after the age of 12 to 18 months. If your baby is having much problem because of acid reflux when getting older you should contact a doctor.
Baby constipation cure
You should always be careful when changing your baby's diet, drastic changes may result in baby constipation. This condition is unusual in babies who are being breast fed but is more common when the baby starts to eat real food. In the transition period, the baby may have very irregular stool. The stool may also differ a lot in consistency and amount. Every baby has its specific facial expression when having stool, and you will probably learn to recognize the same very quickly since it's an often occurring activity. Even though the stool is hard or comes in small balls, this isn't considered baby constipation. Baby constipation occurs when the stool becomes dry and hard because it's stuck in the large intestine. Some babies make a lot of noises when having stool without having baby constipation. Contact a doctor if your baby seems to be in pain or is crying. Baby constipation cures include being careful with what food you give your child. Don't make any drastic changes and if you want your baby to try to eat something new, only give him or her very small amounts at a time and wait at least a day before trying again to be sure it's okay. If no baby constipation cure seems to work, use laxative. This may be uncomfortable for your baby but will eventually relieve the abdominal pain.
