What Is Malabsorption in Children?

Contents:

Medical Video: Malabsorption Syndrome

Sometimes children who eat balanced foods are still at risk of experiencing malnutrition. This might occur because of the inability of the child's body to absorb nutrients from the digestive system into the bloodstream, or which is often called malabsorption.
Usually, the digestive process will convert nutrients from food into small units that pass through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream to then be taken to other cells in the body. If the intestinal wall is damaged by a virus, bacterial infection, or parasite, the lining will be affected so that undigested substances cannot pass. When this happens, nutrition will instead be released through feces.

Malabsorption is common in children for one or two days while experiencing stomach flu or intestinal flu. This rarely happens for a long time because the intestinal surface will heal quickly without significant damage. In this case, malabsorption is not something to worry about. However, chronic malabsorption can also occur. If two or more of the following symptoms occur, consult a doctor.

Malabsorption signs and symptoms

Chronic malabsorption signs and symptoms, namely:

  • Continuous abdominal pain and vomiting
  • Frequent bowel movements, soft stools, foul smelling, and very large size
  • Vulnerable to infection
  • Weight loss with loss of fat and muscle
  • Bruises
  • Fracture
  • Dry and scaly skin
  • Personality change
  • Slow growth and weight (may not be seen for several months).

Treatment for malabsorption

When a child suffers from malnutrition, malabsorption is only one of the causes. A child suffers from malnutrition because he does not get enough food that is good or has digestive problems so the body has difficulty absorbing nutrients. Before doing treatment, the doctor will investigate the cause first. This can be done in the following way.

You will be asked to list the amount and type of food your child eats.

Pediatricians can test a child's ability to digest and absorb certain nutrients. For example, the doctor asks the child to drink a solution of milk sugar (lactose) and then measure the level of hydrogen in breathing. This is known as lactose hydrogen breath test.

The pediatrician will analyze the stool sample. Healthy children will only throw a little fat consumed every day through feces. If too much is wasted, it is a sign of malabsorption.

A sweat test can be done to see if there is cystic fibrosis in the body. This disease causes the body to produce certain enzymes that interfere with the digestive system and sweat disorders.

In some cases, the pediatrician will examine the child's digestion obtained from the wall of the small intestine, and examine it under a microscope for signs of infection, inflammation, or other injuries.

Usually, tests are carried out before treatment begins, even though a seriously ill child is being treated in the hospital to receive special feeding while the results of this test are being evaluated.

After the doctor believes the problem is due to malabsorption, he will identify the cause of this malabsorption. If it occurs because of an infection, treatment usually includes antibiotics. If malabsorption occurs because the intestine is too active, certain drugs can be used to overcome this, so there is time to absorb nutrients.

Sometimes there is no obvious cause for malabsorption. You can replace food into foods that contain special nutrients so that it is more easily absorbed by your child's body.

What Is Malabsorption in Children?
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