Question
A seven-year-old girl has been experiencing intermittent abdominal pain for three years, sometimes during or after meals, and sometimes at non-meal times. After medical examination, the cause of the pain could not be determined. It is commonly said that many children go through similar situations during growth, which will naturally improve as they grow older. However, parents are concerned about whether they should remain vigilant about the girl’s condition, whether her abdominal pain is a normal phenomenon, and if not normal, what treatment methods are available and how to treat it.
Answer
If a child experiences abdominal pain, parents should recall whether the child has been exposed to cold or consumed food that may irritate the gastrointestinal tract. If the child has nausea but is unable to vomit, and is accompanied by headaches, it may be due to food intolerance. At this point, you can try to induce vomiting for the child, the quickest way being to gently stimulate the area around the child’s throat, but it is necessary to wash hands and trim nails beforehand. Once the child has vomited, headaches and abdominal pain usually subside.