Each of us at least once and firsthand faced such an unpleasant phenomenon as abdominal pain. And very often they say that this is "indigestion." Vomiting is not always present. Especially in childhood, this phenomenon is common. In fact, there is no such concept in medical terminology. This ailment is called dyspepsia, which is a process of pathological disorder of the functioning of the stomach.
Literally translated, this word means the negation of the positive properties of the word "digestion". Roughly speaking, this is a difficult or disturbed process of digestion of food.
Currently, this disorder is diagnosed quite often.
In fact, dyspepsia is not a diagnosis per se. Rather, it is a complex of symptomatic manifestations that can accompany various pathological and physiological conditions or be a consequence of them.action.
Why does "indigestion" occur? Let's figure it out.
Main causes of dyspeptic manifestations
Depending on the causes of disruption of the normal activity of the stomach, it is customary to classify dyspepsia into functional and organic.
The main causes of the first condition are:
- If food is taken in a hurry, it is badly chewed, it makes digestion very difficult and the process of production of gastric juice is difficult.
- Overeating is one of the most common causes of indigestion. As they say in everyday life, "the stomach failed" or "the stomach has become." Excess food always leads to indigestion and the food does not have time to be digested.
- Carbonated drinks provoke excessive flatulence and, accordingly, disruption of the gastrointestinal tract.
- "Heavy" food: excess fried, spicy, peppery, s alty, etc.
- Abuse of coffee and tea. Caffeine increases the level of acidity, which leads to irritation of the gastric mucosa.
- Alcohol consumption is also not always invisible to the digestive tract.
- Violation of diet. Both too frequent and too infrequent meals do not contribute to the he althy functioning of the stomach.
- Intensified physical activity after meals can also disrupt the digestion process.
- Psycho-emotional shocks also do not go unnoticed for the work of the digestive tract.
- Many pharmacological drugs as side effectshave disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.
- Helicobacteria can also cause "indigestion".
Dyspepsia of organic origin
The most common causes are:
- Diseases of the digestive tract.
- Disruption of the liver, for example, cholecystitis is always accompanied by impaired digestion.
- Increased acidity of the stomach (its manifestation is heartburn)
- Diseases of the gallbladder.
- Pancreatitis.
- Malignant tumors of the digestive tract.
With organic dyspepsia, frequent spasmodic pains of a paroxysmal nature are characteristic. Also, this type of dyspepsia is characterized by seasonal exacerbations of manifestations, which, according to observations, most often occur in late autumn or early spring.
Functional dyspepsia
When "indigestion" occurs, as they say, out of the blue, in the absence of diagnoses of gastrointestinal diseases, then, in most cases, there is functional dyspepsia, i.e. a situational disruption of the functioning of the stomach, provoked by any single factors. It is customary to distinguish the following types of functional dyspepsia:
- Dyspepsia of a fermentative nature. It is easy to guess that this type of disorder provokes the use of products that provoke fermentation processes in the stomach. These are foods that are high in carbohydrates, plant fiber, and fermented drinks such as beer and kvass.
- Dyspepsia of a fatty nature. It is caused by eating a lot of high-fat foods
- Dyspepsia of a putrefactive nature. It is caused by an excess of protein foods. I would like to especially note this type of dyspepsia in connection with their particular frequency in recent times. The symptoms of indigestion are quite unpleasant.
Recently, the so-called protein diet for weight loss has become fashionable: the Dukan diet, the Kremlin diet. These diets are based on increased protein intake and minimization of carbohydrate intake. It is due to the imbalance of the protein-carbohydrate content of nutrition, as a result of which the desired metabolic processes are launched in the body, and weight loss results are achieved. But doctors all over the world point to the particular harm of this particular type of diet: they lead to a huge burden on the gastrointestinal tract, liver, and kidneys. In the body there is an accumulation of toxic products of protein breakdown, that is, simply intoxication of the body. Unfortunately, the consequences of such pathological chronic poisoning can be irreversible and permanently disrupt the work of not only the gastrointestinal tract so that dyspepsia becomes a constant companion in the life of a lover of such diets, but also of other organs.
Manifestations of dyspepsia
Unfortunately, indigestion is insidious in that it does not have any significant distinguishing features by which one can 100% say that these are the phenomena of functional dyspepsia, and not formidable bellspathological diseases of the digestive tract of the body. Therefore, doctors advise: if dyspeptic symptoms make themselves felt for three months, regardless of the degree of regularity, this is already a serious reason to conduct an examination for the presence of gastrointestinal diseases.
Let's look at the main symptoms of indigestion.
Symptomatics
The following symptoms of indigestion are distinguished:
- Pain in the abdomen, often spasmodic.
- Feeling of general discomfort and heaviness in the gastrointestinal tract, especially after eating.
- The feeling of fullness with food occurs very quickly, food is taken in small portions, after which there comes a persistent and persistent feeling of fullness, followed by a lack or violation of the usual appetite and even the development of aversion to food.
- Belching and heartburn are the most common symptoms of "indigestion" in adults.
- Stubborn nausea, often ending in vomiting.
- Increased gas formation.
- General deterioration of well-being, weakness.
- Diarrhea or, conversely, constipation.
- General intoxication may be present.
The symptoms and treatment of "indigestion" in adults are interrelated.
Very often, dyspepsia can be observed after a heavy meal, eating fatty foods, and even significant physical activity can provoke reactions from the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms of indigestion in a child are not particularly different fromadults.
Repeat, if the manifestation of dyspeptic symptoms is regular and observed for a long period of time, then this is a reason to see a doctor and conduct an examination. Timely treatment will help to avoid negative consequences and pathologies that risk becoming chronic.
Before considering the treatment of indigestion in adults, you need to familiarize yourself with the diagnosis of this pathology.
Diagnosis
- Fibrogastroduodenoscopy (FEGDS). If necessary, a biooptical sample is also taken. This is a common method for determining stomach ulcers. FEGDS is an endoscopic method that involves a visual examination of the surface of the stomach, as well as the duodenum using a video endoscope.
- Complex ultrasound of the state of internal organs - and not only the digestive tract.
- Laboratory study for Helicobacter pylori - the causative agent of diseases.
- General blood test, which allows you to get a general picture of the state of the body and determine the presence of an inflammatory process in the body.
- General analysis of feces is carried out in order to determine the presence of hidden bleeding of internal organs.
If all of the above methods of examination do not give a picture of the presence of the disease, then in most cases it is a functional indigestion. In this case, symptomatic treatment is provided, aimed at minimizing and eliminating unpleasant manifestations from the gastrointestinal tract and normalizing the work of the stomach.
HowIs your child being treated for indigestion? More on that below.
Therapy Methods
The following are non-drug recommendations:
- It is not recommended to lie down after eating. You can walk or engage in moderate physical activity within half an hour after eating.
- Sports are good for you, but it's best to avoid exercises that involve your abdominal muscles, such as abs workouts.
- During sleep, the head should be slightly elevated to avoid the reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus and, accordingly, heartburn.
- Compliance with the postulates of proper nutrition and a sparing diet: avoid overeating, foods with high acidity, minimize the consumption of fried, fatty, s alty, smoked foods.
If signs of dyspepsia are detected at an early stage, the above recommendations are quite capable of helping to normalize the work of the gastrointestinal tract. Consider treating "indigestion" with drugs.
Medication methods
Methods of treatment of functional dyspepsia are reduced to the elimination of dyspeptic symptoms, consequences and normalization of the gastrointestinal tract. It is necessary to help the body restore disturbed digestive functions.
The treatment regimen usually includes:
- Taking laxatives or, on the contrary, antidiarrheal drugs. They are taken until the symptoms they are aimed at disappearing.
- Painkillers aimed at eliminating spasmodic pain instomach.
- Enzymes. They are assistants in the enzymatic processing of incoming food, helping to break it down.
- H2-histamine blockers. They allow you to reduce the level of acidity of gastric juice.
If dyspeptic manifestations are a consequence of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, then the above symptomatic methods should also be accompanied by the treatment of diseases that caused dyspepsia.
Dyspepsia in children
It is worth noting separately dyspepsia in children.
As with adults, dyspepsia in children is also a digestive disorder. It just has small features that often cause anxiety among parents. Especially important is the timely adjustment of the upset digestive function in children, since for prolonged dyspepsia of childhood there is the possibility of obtaining complicating consequences, for example, the well-known "dehydration", which is very dangerous for the child's body. Especially if dyspepsia is manifested against the background of other chronic or acute diseases.
What to do with indigestion in children?
Causes of dyspepsia in children
In infancy it is:
- overfeeding;
- prematurity;
- underdevelopment of the gastrointestinal tract;
- enzymatic deficiency, both pathological and physiological (this means that the child's body is simply not yet ready to digest a certain product due to the immaturity of the enzymatic system);
- tooearly feeding;
- Inability of the gastrointestinal tract of babies to cope with the volume of incoming food.
After a year and at an older age
Very often, parents want to feed their child goodies and overdo it. At an early age, the development of dyspepsia is promoted by the use of harmful products, such as confectionery, chips, carbonated drinks, fast foods, and sausages. For the children's gastrointestinal tract, such food carries a special burden and harm.
School and adolescence
Due to the rapid hormonal changes in the body and the active growth of internal organs, periodic manifestations of functional dyspepsia are also possible, when suddenly, in fact, out of the blue, without any special changes in the usual diet, the child complains about the stomach and gastrointestinal disorders.
According to Dr. Komarovsky, the highest risk group for developing simple (functional) dyspepsia includes children prone to anemia, rickets, suffering from various allergic reactions, autoimmune diseases.
Varieties of childhood dyspepsia
Children experience the same types of dyspepsia as adults. Above, we examined them in detail.
The most common symptoms of GI upset in children are:
- increased flatulence;
- frequent regurgitation (in newborns and infants);
- sleep disorder, anxiety, moodiness;
- lack of appetite;
- nausea and vomiting;
- diarrhea.
Untimely taken measures to normalize and establish the causesdyspeptic disorders can lead to a toxic form, which is characterized by general pallor and weakness, as well as fever, repeated vomiting and deterioration in the general condition of the body.
You cannot self-medicate, you must definitely see a doctor, and in case of urgent need, call an ambulance.
Methods for diagnosing dyspepsia
Diagnostic methods are aimed at differentiating simple dyspepsia from diseases such as fermentopathy / enteritis, colitis and other organic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
The following diagnostic methods are used:
- stomach x-ray;
- duodenal sounding;
- examination of the intraesophageal (intragastric) environment;
- Ultrasound of the digestive tract;
- esophagogastroduodenoscopy;
- bacterial stool cultures;
- blood biochemistry;
- coprogram;
- UAC and OAM;
- laboratory blood test for enzymes;
- analysis of feces for helminthic invasion.
How to improve digestion?
The most effective home remedies for simple dyspepsia include:
- Following a diet with the exclusion of any heavy food, and in the first few hours of an exacerbation of the disease - eating is excluded. Give the child only water or tea.
- Restoration of the water and electrolyte balance of the body due to fluid loss as a result of repeated vomiting and diarrhea. This is the reception of "Rehydron", or solutionssodium chloride, or glucose-based. How to treat indigestion in a child with medication?
- Restoration of intestinal microflora. They use drugs such as Linex, Bifidum, Bifiform, Acipol, etc.
- In order to detoxify and reduce flatulence, they take sorbents, such as the well-known "Smekta", as well as "Atoxil", "Enterosgel".
- Stabilization of digestion is carried out with the help of enzymatic preparations: "Creon", "Pancreatin". At an older age, children are given "Festal", "Mezim".
Treatment of indigestion should be carried out strictly under medical supervision.
Severe toxic forms of dyspepsia require hospitalization and inpatient treatment. Toxic forms of dyspepsia are complicated cases of simple dyspepsia, when outpatient treatment has no effect due to the severity of the disease, or outpatient care began to be delayed.
We looked at the symptoms and treatment of indigestion.
