Three Symptoms That Tell You Your Child May Have Indigestion

When you have a child that just doesn’t feel well, you can feel stressed and worried.  Many children will have digestive problems throughout their lives, some starting as early as birth. When your child is young however, you might have to really look at their behavior to notice if they are suffering from indigestion or not. Take a look at these three symptoms and behaviors that might tell you your child has indigestion.  Then choose whether or not you want to discuss these things with your child’s doctor. 

Child Complaints

If your child is old enough to verbally tell you what’s wrong, they may be able to do so.  In fact, they may describe things a little differently than you would expect.  Some children will automatically say their heart hurts when in fact they are having gas pains in their chest.  While an adult would be able to differentiate between their heart being in pain and gas pains, a child would not be able to verbalize these differences. 

In addition, your child might simply state they have a tummy ache.  They might not be able to tell you much more than that.  Of course if your child is young, you may not get any verbal complaints from them at all, which can make it more difficult than ever. 

Behavior Changes

If your child suddenly doesn’t want to eat, but still complains of being hungry, they might be avoiding food because it causes them discomfort.  Many children will simply relate their pain to food altogether and stop eating.  They will still be hungry, but they will become almost afraid of eating.  If you notice a major difference in your child’s eating patterns, you should take note.  Remember that some children go through phases that affect their eating amounts, so it may not be something to worry about.  One great thing to do is try to feed your child a mild diet for a while to see if it helps and if they come around.

Gas Occurrences

If you start noticing your child is having more gas than usual, he or she might be suffering from indigestion as well.  Of course, children will have a healthy amount of gas.  In addition, they are more likely to make their gas known, whereas adults often try to hide it.  There are over the counter medications that help tremendously with gas.  Choose one with simethicone in it for the best results.  You can ask your child’s doctor or the pharmacist to recommend something.  If your child is behaving differently in other areas of his or her lifestyle as well, you should talk to your doctor about indigestion.

So, even though your children may not be able to talk to you about indigestion or explain their discomforts very well, you should do your best to be as attentive and to listen as much as you can to their complaints.  In fact, you should talk with your child’s doctor about any concerns you have.  If your child’s health is at risk in any way, it should be addressed as soon as possible.