Inflammatory and infectious diseases rarely pass without a trace for the body. After them, doctors often diagnose reactive pancreatitis. In children, the symptoms of this disease indicate damage to the main organ of the digestive system - the pancreas. However, abdominal discomfort, belching, and heartburn do not always indicate an inflammatory process. If the child complains of pain, you should immediately call a doctor. Self-treatment may result in a complication of the pathological process.
What you need to know about the disease?
Pancreatitis is one of the most common diseases of the pancreas. It happens in both adults and children. The clinical picture and the nature of the course of the pathological process determine its form - acute or chronic. This condition is very dangerous. If you do not take timely steps to eliminate the cause of the disease, you will have to follow a strict diet throughout your life.
Reactivepancreatitis in a child is somewhat different from the main form of the disease. Its development begins with inflammation of the pancreas. As a result, the work of the body is disrupted, and the functions assigned to it are not performed in full. Enzymes that are involved in the process of breaking down food cannot pass through the inflamed ducts. They remain in the pancreas and begin to literally digest it from the inside.
Causes of the inflammatory process
Recently, reactive pancreatitis in children is diagnosed more and more often. Doctors explain this trend by a change in the taste preferences of the population. Today, the child's diet consists mainly of products that contain a large number of preservatives, dyes and flavors. These substances negatively affect the work of the pancreas. They provoke a spasm of the organ ducts, as a result of which the enzymes do not enter the digestive tract. The inflammatory process gradually develops.
Reactive pancreatitis in a child may occur due to recent infectious diseases. For example, ARVI or ARI often act as a trigger for the pathological process. Another cause of the disease is antibiotic therapy. The use of "Metronidazole" or "Furosemide" in the treatment increases the risk of developing the disease.
In rare cases, reactive pancreatitis develops against the background of congenital diseases of the pancreas. These include lactase deficiency, cystic fibrosis, an abnormal changepassages of the duodenum. Such patients are aware of he alth problems from an early age, so they follow a special diet and take medication. The likelihood of inflammation in the pancreas is negligible, but still exists.
First manifestations of the disease
Signs of reactive pancreatitis in children are practically no different from the symptoms of the disease in adults. The development of the pathological process is accompanied by severe pain in the epigastric region. The clinical picture is complemented by nausea, impaired stool. Attacks of diarrhea are replaced by constipation. With diarrhea, the stool is liquid, and the feces are covered with a shiny coating. Children often complain of dry mouth, intense thirst. Appetite is deteriorating, and some babies refuse to eat at all.
The disease is often accompanied by symptoms of general malaise. The child becomes lethargic and apathetic, loses interest in everything that happens. He constantly wants to sleep, and the high temperature does not allow him to do his usual activities.
The severity of the symptoms of the disease depends on the age of the patient. The older the child, the stronger the symptoms of the disease. In newborns, abdominal pain is expressed by capriciousness and increased motor activity. Reactive pancreatitis in young children is also accompanied by severe discomfort in the navel. However, they cannot show the exact location of the pain. Older children usually complain of strongnausea and vomiting. All of the above symptoms may warrant immediate medical attention.
First aid for an attack of pancreatitis
If symptoms of reactive pancreatitis appear, you should immediately call a team of medical workers. Before the arrival of help, you need to carefully lay the child on the sofa or bed, provide him with complete peace. A cold heating pad can be placed on the abdomen. It is not recommended to give the patient analgesics or other drugs, as they can blur the overall clinical picture. Reactive pancreatitis in children, whose symptoms often take parents by surprise, is a transient disease. Therefore, its treatment should be taken with all seriousness and responsibility.
Diagnostic Methods
Before starting the treatment of the disease, the young patient must undergo a complete medical examination.
- Complete blood count is required for leukocyte count. The number of these elements increases with pancreatitis.
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs shows seals in the gland, as well as other pathological changes in the organ.
- A biochemical blood test allows you to assess the level of enzymes produced by the pancreas.
- With the help of gastroscopy, the doctor can take material for cytological examination in the laboratory.
If tests confirm reactive pancreatitis in a child, treatment of the disease is started immediately.
Basic Principles of Therapy
Treatment of inflammation in the pancreas requires an integrated approach. It usually involves taking medication and following a strict diet. The choice of specific medications for treatment depends on the patient's condition and the characteristics of his body. The patient must be admitted to the hospital. For the first few days, he should be given complete rest. The hospital regime during an exacerbation of the disease allows you not to suffer from the question of what the menu should be for reactive pancreatitis in children.
Parents need to strictly adhere to the doctor's recommendations, because he only wishes the child a speedy recovery. Therefore, all dietary restrictions cannot be considered a whim of a doctor, as many may think. If a small patient has already had an attack of reactive pancreatitis, his symptoms have appeared, adherence to a strict diet is an integral part of therapy. Otherwise, a relapse may occur.
Diet for inflammation of the pancreas
What needs to be changed in the diet with a diagnosis of "reactive pancreatitis"? A child should not be embarrassed by the diet. He should consider it part of his usual way of life, because the main restrictions apply only to harmful products. This list includes fatty and spicy dishes, smoked meats and fast food. It is also recommended to exclude chocolate, cocoa and concentrated juices. The rest of the dietary rules are listed below.
- It is necessary to provide functional rest to the pancreas. From the diet of a small patient, first of all, it is necessary to excludeall irritants. Cooked or steamed foods should be served ground at room temperature.
- It is important to take care of maintaining the energy and nutritional value of the diet. There is no need to feed the baby exclusively protein foods. The diet should be as varied as possible and also include carbohydrate foods.
- Eat should be in small portions, but often. It is recommended to remember the principles of fractional nutrition. The interval between meals should not exceed four hours.
To prevent new outbreaks of the disease, you need to constantly monitor nutrition. Any experimentation with food can lead to a new attack and the need to take medication.
What should be the diet for reactive pancreatitis?
Children with signs of an inflammatory process are first put on a starvation diet. Within two days, patients are allowed to drink only ordinary mineral water. From the third day of treatment, the diet is supplemented with homemade crackers and tea without sugar, oatmeal on the water. Then you can include jelly, sour-milk products, stale white bread. On the fifth day of therapy, simple vegetable broths or purees are allowed. After another five days, subject to positive dynamics, patients can eat lean meat, steam cutlets. Fresh vegetables and fruits should be introduced into the diet gradually, preferably the latest. A complete list of allowed dishes at each stage of the diet should be determined by the attending physician.
Treatment of reactive pancreatitismedicines
The use of drugs in this disease allows you to stop its progression and stop the symptoms. All medicines included in the standard course of therapy can be divided into two conditional groups:
- Anspasmodics. This group includes “pure” medicines (“No-shpa”) and drugs that contain painkillers (“Analgin”, “Paracetamol”).
- Enzyme products. Their action is aimed at improving the process of digestion. In this group, drugs are divided into two categories: those containing enzymes (Mezim, Pancreatin) and those containing bile (Festal, Ferestal). It is not necessary to abuse drugs, because the body can get used to such artificial help. Preparations from the second group give a good therapeutic effect, but their use is contraindicated in cholelithiasis and exacerbation of gastritis.
To enhance the therapeutic effect of medications, doctors recommend taking additional antacids. They help reduce the acidity of the stomach, thereby increasing the beneficial effect of drugs.
Treatment with folk remedies
Reactive pancreatitis in a child cannot be cured without the use of drugs. However, to relieve symptoms, you can resort to the help of recipes of folk healers. Before starting a course of therapy, you should consult with your doctor.
One of the popular products in the treatment of pancreatitis is royal jelly. apply itIt is possible only if the child is not allergic to honey. The duration of the course of therapy is 2-3 months. Then you need to take a short break for a few days. It is recommended to take royal jelly in a teaspoon three times a day. It's best to slowly suck on a sweet treat rather than swallowing it whole.
You can also make homemade kvass from celandine. To prepare it, you need 3 liters of whey. If you can't find it, you can replace it with plain water. The liquid must be poured into a vessel, add a teaspoon of sour cream and sugar. Half a glass of celandine grass should be poured into a gauze bag, lowered into a jar of water or whey. For two weeks, you need to stir kvass daily. If you strictly follow the instructions presented, on the 10th day the drink should begin to foam. Take kvass for a week in a tablespoon three times a day.
Prevention measures
Not always parents can protect their child from the factors contributing to the occurrence of reactive pancreatitis. That is why they must explain to the child the seriousness of the disease, tell them about the need to follow a special diet.
Many children have a sweet tooth. It is cakes and pastries that deal the strongest blow to the pancreas. One of the measures to prevent the disease is to limit the consumption of sweets. The most common honey can act as a substitute for them. However, it is important not to overdo it with this delicacy. Two tablespoons are enough for a babyspoons of this product, provided there is no allergy. Another important rule is not to overeat. The child should get up from the table with a slight feeling of hunger.
Another way to prevent the disease is the timely treatment of infectious and inflammatory pathologies, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Very often, against the background of such problems, reactive pancreatitis develops in a child. Only through competent therapy can self-destruction of the pancreas be avoided. It should be noted that any drugs for treatment should be prescribed by a doctor. Self-selection of medicines is strictly prohibited.
Summarize
Reactive pancreatitis in children, the symptoms and treatment of which are described in this article, is considered a dangerous condition. When the first symptoms of the disease appear, you should immediately seek medical help. Ignoring pathology can lead to unpleasant consequences. Among them, the most alarming is the self-destruction of the pancreas. Due to untimely access to a doctor, the child may develop diabetes in the future.
