What to Do About Indigestion in Children

Children frequently experience indigestion. We'll tell you everything you need to know about this common problem in the article below.

Children are susceptible to all sorts of illnesses, which makes it important to pay attention even to what foods they eat. Indigestion in children can even become a recurrent problem if they don’t eat well.

Here’s what you should know when it comes to indigestion in children, which is quite common. Take note and find out what to do!

It’s true that indigestion can be quite unpleasant and debilitating for children. It’s characterized by a burning sensation in the back of the throat and discomfort in the chest and stomach.

Children’s indigestion occurs when they eat a large amount of food, eat too fast, or eat foods that their bodies can’t process well. It can also be accompanied by bloating, nausea, burning in the stomach, and belching.

However, it’s not always easy to identify the cause of indigestion. Treatment at home and over-the-counter medications can usually control the symptoms. Understanding the cause of indigestion in children can be key to finding the appropriate treatment.

What causes indigestion in children?

Below are some of the main causes of indigestion in children:

1. Medication

The first cause of indigestion in children is the consumption of certain medications. Although of course some medicines can help children, others can cause stomach acidity. 

2. Illness due to acid reflux

This second condition occurs as a result of repeated cases of indigestion in children that lead to inflammation and irritation of the esophagus. This condition requires medical attention.

3. Stress

Stress and anxiety can lead to an irregular diet, as well as poor sleeping habits. You should know that indigestion caused by stress and anxiety can be prevented by treating the cause. Make sure your child has a stress-free environment.

4. Obesity

Obesity causes extra pressure on children’s abdomen, which leads to acid reflux in the esophagus every time they eat.

5. Hernia

The final cause of indigestion in children are hernias, a condition in which the stomach pushes upward against the diaphragm, blocking the esophagus. This can lead to inefficient digestion and later acid reflux.

What can I do to prevent indigestion in children?

Certainly, most cases of indigestion in children don’t require medical treatment. 

However, it’s always a good idea to visit a doctor when symptoms persist for more than a few hours. The doctor will diagnose the problem by pressing on the area around the stomach to identify the location of the pain.

Once the diagnosis is complete, the doctor may prescribe a course of medication or recommend additional tests, such an x-ray or abdominal exploration. Depending on what the doctor finds, it’s possible that they’ll recommend changes in diet or certain medication.

When we talk about treatment, it’s better to think about prevention, in addition to listening to signals from the body. If a food makes your children feel sick, stop buying it immediately.

We also recommend that you use medicines temporarily while working with your doctor to make changes in their diet that will help to resolve their stomach acidity issues permanently.

Finally, we’d like to remind you that indigestion in children can be prevented by establishing certain dietary restrictions, such as avoiding foods with too much fat, chewing food very well, or limiting the amount of chocolate they eat.

As you’ll have been able to observe in this article, prevention is much better than treatment. So we recommend that you reduce the frequency with which your child eats certain foods.