Inflammatory processes in the liver are not considered rare, so they are also called hepatitis. In fact, there are many reasons for pathologies to develop in this important organ. Most often they appear after infection with pathogenic bacteria occurs. It is this condition that is called reactive liver changes. Oddly enough, but it is young children who are at risk, so parents should know why the disease occurs and how to deal with it.
Causes of disease
Reactive liver changes in children usually occur after the child has been ill with some serious illness. The child's immunity is weak after fighting other diseases, so he is most exposed to the penetration of pathogenic microbes into the body.
As soon as a disease begins to develop in a person, the biochemical composition changesblood. Reactive changes in the liver in the body can be prevented if you know what can cause them. Consider the main reasons why reactive liver changes may occur in children:
- The baby may have digestive, stomach or intestinal diseases, as a result of which the shape of the organ changes.
- The child may be sick with diseases such as lupus erythematosus or rheumatism, which negatively affects the functioning of the liver.
- Diseases that spread to the glands, such as diabetes, can cause an inflammatory process in the liver.
- Disease may develop some time after poisoning.
- Even young children can have internal cancer.
To rule out any of these causes, parents should make sure that the child gets a full examination and takes the correct treatment prescribed by the doctor. Most often, specialists have to treat reactive changes in the liver parenchyma in a child - inflammation of the fine-grained tissue that is responsible for pushing out bile. It should be noted that in this case, the liver can be fully restored with the right therapeutic treatment.
How the disease manifests
It often happens that the disease occurs without any symptoms, but if you take the he alth of the child with all responsibility, then perhaps the baby will complain of such ailments:
- The baby will be less active because the whole body feels weak.
- You can observe subfebriletemperature.
- Problems with the digestive system appear, vomiting opens and diarrhea begins.
- The baby may complain of pain in the right hypochondrium.
- Signs of a reactive liver change in a child may be similar to other diseases in the digestive system or stomach, but the obvious fact that the baby has problems with this particular organ will be yellowness of the skin.
- On palpation, the doctor will be able to note an increase in liver size.
It is important for parents not to miss the onset of the inflammatory process, then it will be possible to quickly and without complications restore the work of the organ.
Diagnosis
To identify the disease, a small child needs to undergo a complete examination of the whole body. First of all, urine and blood tests are given, which will help identify changes in the composition. For example, in laboratory studies, you can notice an increase in liver transaminases and bilirubin, and the protein in the blood will be reduced.
In fact, it is not so easy to identify the inflammatory process in the liver, because diseases are of different etiologies. The specialist may prescribe laboratory tests that will help exclude viral hepatitis, conduct a biopsy. Regardless of the cause, reactive liver changes in a child are treatable.
Treatment
Basically, the treatment depends on how the organ has been exposeddamage, sometimes it is necessary to completely restore the liver, and it also happens that the changes affected only the parenchyma, and in this case it turns out to completely restore the body. For young children, treatment should be applied immediately, since a fragile body is exposed to many diseases that spread very quickly, and if parents do not pay attention to the problem in time, then this can be dangerous for the baby's life. Reactive changes in the vessels of the liver in a child occur instantly, so the general condition of the baby may worsen every day.
Basic treatments
All therapeutic methods will be aimed at eliminating the main cause. Parents should know that in order to restore the child's liver, it will be necessary not only to undergo a course of treatment, but also to completely change his lifestyle and diet. The baby should not eat foods that overload the liver and prevent it from functioning normally. First of all, the doctor will prescribe a strict diet, which will be based on boiled and baked vegetables and fruits, and children are also allowed to give a small amount of white poultry meat and lean fish. When a child has diffuse reactive changes in the liver, it is recommended to pay special attention to the drinking regimen.
The baby should drink plenty of clean water or special herbal teas. It is recommended to brew tea with marigold and chamomile flowers, but it is important to consult a doctor before doing this.
To young children with liver diseasespecialists prescribe drugs that help support the body and restore the diseased organ. These drugs include:
- Hepatoprotector of plant origin "Hofitol". It should be drunk in a course, at least it takes two weeks, the dosage is determined by the doctor based on the tests.
- For nausea and vomiting enterosorbents "Enterosgel" and "Sorbeks" are prescribed.
- If there is a suspicion that the cause of the disease is hiding in an infection, then it is mandatory to take antibiotics. The most common of them is "Nifuroxazid".
When a child is diagnosed with a reactive liver change, treatment can only be selected by a pediatrician. Parents should strictly follow all doctor's recommendations to prevent complications.
How to restore the liver in a child
In addition to taking medications, diet is mandatory. With any inflammatory processes in the liver, there are a large number of restrictions on the foods that are allowed to be taken. The kid is recommended to drink more freshly squeezed juices from different fruits and vegetables. Parents are advised to dress salads exclusively with olive oil. Products are selected in such a way that they have a minimum amount of fat and a moderate amount of proteins and carbohydrates. Cooked meals should be consumed warm. In order for the liver to recover faster, you should eat the following foods:
- You can eat any jam from berries and honey.
- If bread is used, it must be from yesterday.
- Fruits should not contain acid.
- Tea can be diluted with milk.
- Vegetables should be stewed or boiled.
- Omelet is made exclusively from protein.
- Low-fat broth.
- You can eat rabbit meat, poultry or sea fish.
Reactive liver changes in children are treated, just be patient and pay special attention to the he alth of the child.
Forecasts and reviews
It should be noted that the prognosis for the treatment of this disease is favorable. The liver tissues may not be seriously affected, only the work of the organ changes. If treatment is started on time, the process will not progress. But it is worth remembering that the reviews of many experts indicate that with improper treatment or self-medication, the child can be harmed.
This will lead to the development of new liver diseases and exacerbation of other chronic diseases. Treatment can take place in combination, for example, medications can be well combined with folk methods and herbal medicine.
Prevention
To prevent reactive liver changes in children, it is important to know a few simple rules:
- From birth, make sure that the baby eats right.
- Until the age of three, a baby should be fed pureed food.
- Young children should not eat smoked, fried or spicyfood.
- Child should eat small meals, but often.
If parents follow these simple rules, they will not have to face liver disease in their child.
