Abdominal pain or discomfort is a common complaint in children, especially those between 5 and 15 years of age. It may affect the child’s school attendance, the child’s activity, and appetite. Commonly there is no identifiable cause, most cases are not life-threatening and resolve spontaneously.

 What may have caused it

1. Functional abdominal pain: account for most cases and has no identified cause. It arises because of the excessive sensitivity of the child’s guts.
2. Constipation e.g., following excessive milk intake, excessive meat intake, poor water intake or poor bowel habit
3. Intestinal worms
4. Peptic ulcer
5. Lactose intolerance: inability of the child’s intestine to digest some food types
6. Intestinal infection
7. Ingestion of unripe fruits
8. Food allergy
9. Ingestion of contaminated food
10. Gas bloating e.g., after ingestion of beans, legumes or carbonated drinks

What are the danger signs?

1. Weight loss in the child
2. Presence of blood in stool or vomit
3. Very high body temperature
4. Poor growth
5. Joint pains.

What you can do

1. Observe the child’s activities and diet
2. Treat any identified cause
3. Reduce the child’s consumption of mentioned possible triggers
4. Visit a doctor especially if any of the mentioned danger signs is noticed in the child.