Our team of Private Paediatric Consultants in London provide outstanding care for children with a range of digestive concerns, with appointments often available at short notice.
As any parent soon discovers, digestive problems are common in babies and children. Those that are seen most often range from colic, reflux and infections (gastroenteritis), through to food allergies and intolerances. As the intestinal tract only has a few ways to let you know when something is wrong, these different problems can cause similar symptoms, such as feeling sick, being sick, tummy ache, colicky pain, constipation, or diarrhoea.
When it comes to your child’s digestive health, you might be unsure about when to contact a doctor. You know your child best, so if you think they are unwell or you are worried about their symptoms, it’s wise to seek the advice of a paediatrician.
It’s especially important if your child seems ill, very distressed, is losing weight or develops a fever or frequent, watery stools. Signs that a baby or child needs urgent medical assessment include bile-stained or projectile vomiting, or blood in their stools.
After assessing your child’s symptoms, our paediatricians can refer you to a paediatric gastroenterologist if needed.
The most common digestive problems in babies are colic, gastric reflux, and gastroenteritis (vomiting and diarrhoea), for which our paediatricians can provide advice on prevention and treatment.
Around 1 in 5 babies suffer from recurrent colic during the first three months of life. Babies who are breastfed are just as likely to get colic as those who are bottle-fed, and symptoms typically appear at the age of 3-4 weeks, usually disappearing by 4 months. The exact cause is unknown, but it’s thought that colic is linked with spasm of the intestines, increased sensitivity of nerve endings, or even a temporary lack of a certain digestive enzyme.
Signs that a baby may have colic include crying inconsolably, getting red in the face, and drawing up their legs and passing wind, which seems to ease the symptoms.
A colicky baby may be helped by:
If your baby isn’t settling, then our paediatricians can check them over and provide tailored advice.
Many babies burp and bring up a little feed after almost every meal. If it’s just a few mouthfuls of milk, it is probably just wind or spit-up and is nothing to worry about. If your baby forcefully brings up all or most of their food, however, they may have gastric reflux.
Gastric reflux occurs when the muscular valve at the opening to the stomach does not fully squeeze shut, so stomach contents can pass back up towards the throat. If your baby is regurgitating their feed but gaining weight and thriving, there may not be a problem but it is important to seek medical advice if a baby:
Some babies have silent reflux, and may be miserable and refuse feeds due to heartburn without producing much visible vomit (as they manage to swallow their feed back down).
If you are worried that your baby may have gastric reflux, our paediatricians can provide expert advice. Sometimes, simple measures such as holding a baby in a vertical position while feeding, and for a period of time afterwards, can help.
Giving less milk or formula during more frequent feeds may also help to manage the problem. Other measures involve prescribing a thickener to add to feeds, or a treatment to reduce stomach acidity. The good news is that, in most cases, reflux resolves before the age of one year as a child’s tiny stomach valve develops and starts working properly.
If symptoms don’t respond to treatment, your baby may be referred to a paediatric gastroenterologist for tests to confirm the cause and severity of the problem.
A young baby with vomiting or diarrhoea can quickly become dehydrated. If vomiting or diarrhoea last for more than 8 hours, or if your infant seems ill or has a temperature, our paediatricians can advise whether a special rehydrating fluid or other treatment is needed. Signs that may suggest your baby is dehydrated include:
If you are worried that your baby may be dehydrated, contact a doctor straight away.
Learn what to do for gastroenteritis in small children https://www.themedicalchambers.com/blog/gastroenteritis-small-children-what-do.
Older children and babies can develop food allergies or intolerances, with symptoms that include vomiting, diarrhoea and tummy cramps. If you are concerned that your baby or child has digestive problems related to a food allergy, our general paediatricians can help. After a full assessment of your baby or child’s general health, they can refer you to our paediatric allergist if needed.
Bowel habit is not something that is commonly discussed, but normal stool frequency in children varies from an average of four motions per day during the first week of life, to two motions per day by the age of one year. By the age of four, most children have settled into their normal habit of between three stools per day to three stools per week.
Constipation means different things to different people, depending on their normal bowel habit. In general, a child who is constipated will pass hard stools which may be large, cause straining and make going to the toilet painful. Sometimes, more liquid bowel contents can ‘overflow’ around the constipated stool, leading to your child having an accident.
If your child has problems with constipation or other issues, our paediatricians can assess their general health and provide advice and treatment which often solves the problem. If a specialist opinion is needed, they can refer your child on to a paediatric gastroenterologist.
We’re here to provide you and your child with expert, specialist paediatric care. To find out more, please telephone 020 7244 4200, or make an appointment online.
