Gastric bleeding in children can be a complication of peptic ulcer disease. There are cases of mild severity that do not seriously affect the baby’s overall health. However, serious stomach bleeding if not controlled quickly can be life threatening.
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Gastrointestinal bleeding in children and other information to know
Gastrointestinal bleeding is a bleeding phenomenon in the stomach, the disease can be triggered by various causes. In particular, the main cause is due to the damaged stomach causing ulcers, gradually leading to portal varicose veins.
1. Cause
Stomach bleeding can be the result of some of the following gastrointestinal diseases:
Peptic ulcers
Children as young as 2 years old are at increased risk for facing stomach problems, including peptic ulcers. According to statistics show that the number of cases of children suffering from this disease is usually blood type O, spirochete infection HP, direct exposure to tobacco smoke, climate, family factors, abuse of nonsteroidal drugs, parents. to feed the baby early, …
If not treated early, symptoms of peptic ulcer disease tend to progress more seriously leading to stomach bleeding.
Stomach polyps
Gastric polyps are characterized by small tumors that appear in the lining of the stomach, most of which are benign. However, in a few cases, an abnormal tumor grows and ruptures, at the site of the rupture polyp may develop hemorrhage.
According to leading experts, the number of cases of intestinal bleeding accounts for more than in the stomach. In addition, gastric hemorrhage usually starts in children 2 years of age and older, very few cases occur in infants.
2. Identification mark
If the bleeding is not serious in children, the characteristic signs will be difficult to recognize, and some parents may easily confuse some intestinal symptoms.
Some common manifestations:
- Chest pain
- Stomachache
- Anorexia
- Shortness of breath
- Anorexia
When the pathology becomes severe, you can observe:
- The child is nauseous, vomiting with brown or black discharge
- Your stool is black in color
When noticing these symptoms, parents should quickly bring their children to the nearest medical facility for prompt diagnosis and treatment. Because the prolonged bleeding phenomenon will make the child lose more and more and possibly cause death.
Diagnosis of gastric bleeding in children
Before starting treatment, the specialist will perform diagnostic techniques and find the cause of the disease. Specifically:
- Determine whether the disease is bleeding stomach
- Determine if bleeding is taking place
- Location appears
Next, the doctor will ask about the medical history of the family member and the patient. Because peptic ulcer disease is at risk of transmission from parents to children.
Next, the treating doctor will estimate the amount of blood lost to perform a blood transfusion to the child, and at the same time perform some measures to stop bleeding, treat the cause of stomach bleeding.
Treatments for stomach bleeding in children
Transfusion and blood transfusion
For a child with stomach bleeding, the doctor will probably perform a seawater infusion first and then blood transfusion. This will help the child recover his condition and health, in addition to helping the blood flow gradually stabilize and circulation better.
In case the patient has impaired lung function, at this time, the doctor will proceed to put the pulmonary artery catheter to support better breathing.
Use medication
The doctor will base on the medical condition and prescribe a number of drugs to help reduce the amount of blood secreted, the ability to stop bleeding and limit gastric acid secretion. When the amount of acid in the stomach is inhibited, the child will improve the symptoms of burning pain, discomfort in the area of inflammation, ulcers.
Here are some of the drugs that are commonly used to treat stomach bleeding in children:
H2 blockers : Antihistamines at H2 receptors, reduce the activity of stomach acid secretion. Some H2 blockers are prescribed for children such as Famotidine, Ranitidine, and Nizatidine.
Proton pump inhibitors : belongs to the group of drugs that inhibit gastric acid secretion activity in the stomach environment. This group of drugs is considered quite benign, so it can be used for short-term treatment with children with gastric bleeding.
Octreotide : The drug is often indicated in the cases of children bleeding due to varicose veins, Octreotide works to constrict the vasoconstriction, thereby reducing blood flow secreted.
The use of drugs to treat gastric bleeding in children should comply with the prescription of a specialist. Avoid using drugs on your own because it can make the bleeding become more serious and endanger your life.
Surgical intervention
This is a treatment taken after the above measures fail to yield positive results. The doctor will prescribe surgery in the following cases:
- The bleeding is serious, can be life threatening. There was no sign of improvement after seawater and blood transfusions.
- Stomach bleeding tends to come back many times
- The bleeding is prolonged and the blood loss accounts for 50% of the blood in the patient’s body
- Subject had a history of stomach bleeding
Preventing stomach bleeding disease in children from recurring
Gastric hemorrhagic disease tends to recur when conditions are favorable, so after conducting treatment, parents take measures to prevent recurrence for children. Specifically:
- Observe the therapist’s indications. Absolutely do not voluntarily stop treatment, increase or decrease the dose because it may cause undesirable side effects. In addition, inform the doctor about the child’s history of stomach bleeding so that suitable drugs are prescribed. At the same time, parents need to closely follow the treatment process, if you notice any unusual signs, you should immediately notify the doctor for timely treatment.
- Avoid allowing children to tolerate foods that are detrimental to health as well as stomach such as carbonated drinks, greasy foods, hot spicy foods, fast foods, …
- Use clean raw materials, ensure food safety for children, limit eating street food, raw foods, …
- Practice washing hands with antiseptic soap before eating and after using the toilet.
- Avoid letting children use personal belongings with adults, as well as restricting adults from kissing children, food, …
Stomach bleeding in children, if not treated promptly, can seriously affect the health, even threatening the patient’s life. The information of the article is for reference only, so when realizing the signs of pathology, parents need to bring their children to the hospital for timely examination and treatment, to avoid arbitrary drug treatment. because it can cause undesirable side effects.
