A child isn’t a small adult and should never be treated as one. Children’s bodies undergo continuous growth and their medical needs are quite unique. Not just that, they are different from adults in the way they express their concerns as well. They will be unable to properly answer medical questions and are likely to be uncooperative and anxious. At Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital, we understand that and make sure your child gets the best care.
If your child is suffering from issues like constipation, vomiting, and reflux, we recommend you consult with our expert gastroenterologist. Pediatric nutrition and gastroenterology experts provide outpatient and inpatient care for children having problems with their digestive tract.
There isn’t a better place than Apollo Cradle and Children’s Hospital for diagnosing and treating gastrointestinal diseases and illnesses in children. Our gastroenterology team is completely committed to the patients and is dedicated to providing the best possible treatments.
Our healthcare professionals make sure they provide family-centred care. This means that pediatric gastroenterologists work closely with the child’s care team. This ensures the best possible treatment plan for children. The care team includes the child, the guardian or the parent, primary care provider and subspecialist. The treatment plan for each child is unique and the present and future medical needs of the child are always taken into consideration, along with family preferences and ethnic and social considerations.
What types of treatment are provided by pediatric gastroenterologists?
Our pediatric gastroenterologists provide treatment options for:
- Lactose intolerance
- Bleeding from the gastrointestinal tract
- Complicated or severe gastroesophageal reflux disease (reflux or GERD)
- Food allergies or intolerances
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Liver disease
- Short bowel syndrome
- Acute or chronic abdominal pain
- Chronic constipation
- Vomiting
- Severe or chronic diarrhoea
- Pancreatic insufficiency (including cystic fibrosis) and pancreatitis
- Nutritional problems (including malnutrition, obesity, and failure to thrive)
- Feeding disorders
Pediatric gastroenterologists are specially trained to perform diagnostic tests on the digestive system of children. The endoscopic procedures performed by pediatric gastroenterologists include colonoscopy and esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Treatment is also provided for swallowing issues, bleeding or other problems in the intestines.
Our pediatric gastroenterologists have extensive experience and expertise in managing nutritional issues in children. They can also diagnose and treat children, teens and even infants with liver disease. These medical professionals treat children right from birth to late teen years. Treatment is generally provided for constipation, poor growth, vomiting, reflux, diarrhoea, jaundice and stomach ache. Hence, if your child has any issues related to his or her digestive system, liver or nutritional issues, our pediatric gastroenterologists are the professionals you need to consult.
Constipation in Children
Constipation is more than a common problem among children. The symptoms of the condition are quite well known. A child might be suffering from constipation if he or she has problems with defecation for a continuous period of time. The problem may be infrequent defecation, hard and large stools and are painful and/or difficult to consistently pass. Constipation issues frequently occur during weaning for infants, at school age or while potty training toddlers. Some major factors contributing to constipation include past medical history, psychological disorders, food allergies and anatomical anomalies.
Poor Growth
Poor growth among children is a particular matter of concern for parents. It is a condition in which the rate of growth of weight and high of a child is relatively lower, as compared to other children of the same age and gender group. Some major causes of poor rates of growth include chronic infections, low birth weight, anaemia and metabolic, hormonal and genetic problems. The growth rate of a child can be observed by noticing aspects like weight, height and circumference of the head, which don’t match the expected standard. These symptoms may be diagnosed by your doctor during a regular hospital visit.
It may even happen that poor growth is mainly caused by certain deficiencies in the diet. If that is the case, making sure your child has a healthy and well-balanced diet will promote healthier growth. If you are finding it difficult to decide on the diets and proportions of nutrients that your child requires, you should consult our nutritionists, who will help you make the right choice with food.
Jaundice
Jaundice is a medical condition that mainly causes the skin to turn yellowish. The condition is caused by excessive bilirubin being present in the blood, causing the eyes, skin and mucous membranes in the mouth to turn yellow. In older children, the occurrence of jaundice may be an indication of damage to the liver, infections or other ailments that are affecting the liver. Hence, children with jaundice should be provided with immediate medical attention. Jaundice is actually common among new-borns (Physiological Jaundice) and it usually disappears within the initial few days of life. In other cases, the treatment for jaundice is done based on the cause.
Reflux
The occurrence of reflux causes the contents of the stomach to go back up into the food pipe after or during a meal. It not only occurs in children and babies but also in adults. Usually, reflux isn’t considered to be that problematic, until it is too severe causing poor weight gain, respiratory troubles, bleeding or inflammation of the food pipe.
Gastroenteritis
Gastroenteritis is basically an infection to the guts or the intestines, causing diarrhoea, abdominal pain and vomiting. The infection usually clears up within a few days under normal conditions. If it doesn’t, you need to consult a doctor immediately since vomiting and diarrhoea can cause your child’s body to be dehydrated. The infection may be caused by different types of bacteria, microbes and viruses. The most common virus known to cause gastroenteritis is rotavirus. The first step in treating the condition is preventing dehydration by providing sufficient fluids and preventing loss of fluid. You need to encourage your child to eat in a normal manner.
