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Abdominal Pain in Children

What causes stomach pain in your child?

Approximately 20 percent of children will seek attention for abdominal pain some time during their childhood. The pain could be acute or recurrent in nature and often may be associated with other symptoms, such as vomiting and diarrhoea.

The abdominal pain may arise from gastrointestinal or non-gastrointestinal causes. Common causes include constipation, infant colic and gastroenteritis. However, some of these children could be suffering from more serious conditions such as obstruction of the intestines, bleeding in the intestines and appendicitis, which need medical attention as soon as possible.

Consult your doctor when the following problems arise:

• Any of the symptoms, e.g. pain, vomiting, diarrhoea, becomes worse within 12 to 24 hours

• Pain becomes localised (e.g. in the right lower abdomen as in appendicitis)

• The pain is severe and lasts more than one hour

• The pain is constant and lasts more than two hours

• Abdomen becomes painful to touch

• Abdomen becomes distended

• There is fresh blood in the urine, stools, or vomitus

• Stools becomes black, sticky, and foul-smelling

• Your child is unable to retain any fluid

• Your child is lethargic

• Vomitus is greenish in colour