Children's dysbiosis is very common today. Probably, that's why many people are worried about this problem. And then, where does the disease come from, and how dangerous, and what problems can bring. This pathology means that in the digestive organs, where it can occur, the intestine or stomach, the amount of microflora present there is changed in favor of "harmful" bacteria. Therefore, it turns out that together with the vanishing beneficial microorganisms, normal digestion and assimilation of food ceases. And this is very dangerous, especially at an early age, when the body does not get the nutrients necessary for growth and development.
This situation leads to the fact that the baby becomes exposed to various inflammatory processes, starting with the usual prolonged allergy and ending with the dysfunction of most internal organs. Where did this digestive pathology come from, bringing so many problems and inconveniences? There may be a dysbacteriosis for a variety of reasons, and in children of different ages they may differ from each other. In order to understand this, we need to see how this happens in accordance with age-related changes.
1, 2, 3 degrees of dysbiosis in children
Since this dysfunction of the child's intestines has a large number of clinical manifestations, they were grouped into 3 groups in terms of degrees. Each of the isolated groups corresponds to certain changes occurring in the intestinal microflora:
- 1 degree of dysbacteriosis in children is characterized by primary signs of bowel dysfunction. These include uneven coloring of fecal masses, constipation, bloating and flatulence, decreased appetite. It should also be noted that all the changes occurring at stage 1 are very weakly expressed;
- For the 2nd degree of dysbiosis in children, the appearance of symptoms of primary diseases is characteristic, as the effect of opportunistic microorganisms that provoked signs of pathology increases. At grade 2, abdominal pain also occurs, constipation is replaced by frequent diarrhea, and the temperature rises;
- At 3 degrees of development of pathology severe disturbances of microflora appear, as the concentration of opportunistic pathogens multiplies repeatedly. Also, at the 3rd degree of dysbiosis in children, the mucous walls of the intestine begin to inflame.
Dysbacteriosis in young children
This pathology of digestive organs can develop in the very first days of a child's life, and this situation arises quite often, despite the fact that the intestines of the newborn should be sterile clean. This may occur because during the delivery, the very first microbes enter the digestive system of children, which contribute to the development of a dysbacteriosis in a baby in the event that you do not apply it in time to the mother's breast. Milk mother, got into his intestines in the very first moments of life, will form in the baby a healthy balance of microflora in the digestive organs.
The reception of a woman during lactation of antibiotics also leads to the fact that the baby develops bowel dysfunction. In addition, the introduction of complementary feeding may lead to the development of children's dysbiosis, and as a result, symptoms of this disease will appear to 1,5-2 years of life, indicating the appearance of disturbances in the digestive process. It is possible to deduce the main risk factors that lead to the development of intestinal dysbiosis in the youngest children:
- Untimely initiation of breastfeeding or early withdrawal from the baby;
- Artificial feeding with an unsystematic change of mixtures also causes the development of early dysbiosis in a child;
- Lactose intolerance;
- Presence of a feeding woman in an anamnesis of acute intestinal infections( dysentery, salmonellosis);
- Violations in the rules for the introduction of products necessary for complementary foods;
- Allergic reactions to any food, newly introduced into food, also contribute to the development of dysbacteriosis in children under 1.5 years.
How are the symptoms of this pathology expressed in babies? The very first sign is a mushy chair with significant impurities of foam or the presence of white lumps. Its color becomes greenish and gets putrid smell. After a while after feeding, bloating and rumbling are observed, accompanied by pain. The unpleasant odor from the mouth of the baby, as well as the frequent regurgitation that occurs between the feeds, also refer to the symptoms of early childhood dysbiosis.
Signs of a dysbacteriosis in the grown-up kids
When the child becomes older, the symptomatology of this pathology begins to differ from those of the infants. In the older age, the intestinal dysbacteriosis in children leads to a decrease in immunity, expressed in the fact that children 2, 4, 5 and 6 years old have frequent colds. The same situation is observed in adolescents. In addition, the main symptoms in growing-up babies are such as:
- Frequent pain and bloating, accompanied by flatulence;
- Diarrhea alternates with constipation;
- Disrupted intestinal microflora leads to the fact that in children with dysbacteriosis on the skin there is an itchy rash, similar to the allergy to a product.
And here the raised temperature at growing up child at this disease appears in rare or infrequent cases. In addition, apart from differences in symptoms, in children who are older than 1.5 years, the difference with infants and in how the dysbacteriosis has arisen, and because of it, the intestinal microflora has also been disrupted.
This dysfunction of the digestive organs in older children appears both after a long course of antibiotics, and because of some chronic disease or infection. Hateful for the quantitative ratio in their digestive organs of beneficial and pathogenic bacteria act hormonal drugs. In addition, in the preschool age, such important factors as surgical operations on the digestive organs, vegetovascular dystonia, and stressful situations arise.
Manifestations of dysbacteriosis in school-age children
At the older age, the symptoms of functional bowel disorder are almost the same as those of babies, but not so clearly expressed. Therefore, dysbiosis in children from 10 years and until adolescence is revealed only when they seek help for general fatigue or instability of the stool. If there was no timely treatment, then they have an extraintestinal symptomatology of vitamin deficiency:
- Visible mucous membranes and skin become dry;
- The amount of saliva is significantly increased;
- The language becomes bright red.
Also in older children with the development of their dysbiosis, there may be signs of food allergy, and constant fatigue. Adolescents, however, write off all these manifestations for the most part on the hormonal reconstruction of the body, and therefore, for the corresponding treatment, they are practically never treated.
School of Dr. Komarovsky about dysbiosis
About this dysfunction of the intestines in children, and how to properly treat it in different age groups, very good recommendations are given by a doctor of the highest category Oleg E. Komarovsky, the presenter of the program "The School of Doctor Komarovsky."Therefore, the doctor often hears the questions of troubled parents on the topic: is it possible to consider dysbacteriosis as an incurable disease, are its manifestations similar in children of 5 and 6 years, is it dangerous in 1.5 or 2 years, what preventive measures should be taken at 4 years, and whatat 10?
Oleg Evgenievich, perfectly aware of parents' anxiety about bowel dysfunction in children, responds that he himself considers her a special condition of the child, and not a disease. But Dr. Komarovsky believes that feces for laboratory tests must be taken in order to understand what pathogenic microorganisms are present in the intestines of the baby and to have an idea of the concomitant disorder of the stool of the disease that develops in a small child.
Also, according to Dr. Komarovsky, changing the microflora in the intestines very often indicates that a small child has consumed some new product for him. To eliminate the development of symptoms, often mistaken for dysbiosis, according to the leading child's doctor, it is enough to wait a few days on a light diet, and then, in order to avoid allergic reactions, to allow the child's body to adapt to unusual food for him. And only in the event that diarrhea instead of calming down intensifies, you should consult a specialist.
Consequences and prophylaxis of dysbiosis in children
Since the positive microflora perishes in a dysbacteriosis, the consequences for children may turn out to be quite serious. The predominance of pathogenic microorganisms in the digestive organs is a harbinger of such consequences as:
- The violation of absorption and digestion of food provokes the development of colitis;
- The development of pathogenic microflora leads to a decrease in the detoxification function of the liver, dysfunction of the pancreas;
- Also a consequence of the disease can be bronchial asthma and neurodermatitis.
Dysbacteriosis in the absence of adequate therapy usually takes a relapsing course, which is almost impossible to cure, and provokes the development of complications. To prevent this, it is worth taking the necessary preventive measures long before the birth of the child. To do this, the expectant mother should monitor the state of the microflora of the vagina. After the birth of the baby, the best prevention of dysbacteriosis is breastfeeding from the first minutes. And grown-up children need to adjust the diet for prevention.