In magazines for mothers, actual pediatric problems are very often discussed, among which constipation in children occupy not the last place.
Constipation occurs in disorders of the intestinal functions, which manifest themselves in increasing the intervals between defecations. The frequency of stool in newborn babies may coincide with the number of feedings, and this is two to six times a day( with breastfeeding).
With age, the stool is gradually decreasing, and by the time of complementary feeding, defecation occurs within 1-2 times per day. In children who are on artificial feeding, the frequency of the chair is the same.
Constipation should be considered not only a delay in the stool. Constipation can also be considered cases when the child has a painful defecation with dense feces, while the stool frequency may be normal .
Constipation in childhood is very often accompanied by pain in the abdomen. On pain, children often react with anxiety and crying.
Under the influence of nerve endings, the muscles of the intestine are reduced, which causes the movement of stool masses.Kale advances from the top down the intestine due to its undulating contractions - peristalsis. When the feces come into the rectum, there are desires for defecation, while the rectum stretches, and the nerve endings become irritated.
Defecation occurs consciously in older children, a process that takes place under the control of the central nervous system. The immaturity of the neuromuscular apparatus of a child( in the first months of life) can contribute to stool retention.
Constipation is divided into:
- functional;
- organic.
The latter are associated with anatomical defects of any part of the large intestine. Organic constipation is most often manifested from birth in the form of a lack of stool. Most often, the organic cause of constipation is Hirschsprung's disease - underdevelopment( congenital) of nerve endings in the intestinal wall, while narrowing occurs in the lower parts of the large intestine, and in the overlying regions - enlargement.
These processes create conditions for stool delay. Detecting Hirschsprung's disease is quite easy in those cases when the child's independent chair is almost absent from birth. It should be noted that this disease is extremely rare - one case for five thousand children.
The causes of child constipation are most often:
- insufficient drinking regimen;
- improper power supply;
- irrational diet of the child;
- the presence of rickets;
- food allergy;
- intestinal dysbiosis;
- early translation of the baby for artificial feeding.