By Dr Anthi Thangarajah, Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist at The Portland Hospital and Chiswick Medical Centre

Children's Digestive Health – When And When Not To Worry

By Dr Anthi Thangarajah, Consultant Paediatric Gastroenterologist at The Portland Hospital and Chiswick Medical Centre

As a qualified doctor for twenty years and specialist in children's nutrition and digestive disorders since 2009, I have certainly seen all manner of illnesses within this medical specialty.

I look forward to sharing some of my knowledge with parents at Chiswick Medical Centre's Children's Health event on February 4th , where I hope to help attendees understand more about when and when not to worry if your child is displaying certain symptoms.

Red flags to look out for

For all parents, the care and wellbeing of your children of course comes before anything else. It can therefore be very easy to become alarmed if your child is showing slight signs of an illness. More often than not these symptoms will simply be the result of a common health concern, such as a cold.

There are nonetheless certain red flags you should be particularly aware of in younger children, particularly in relevance to digestive health, including:

•  Blood in their stools

•  Chronic diarrhoea

•  Persistent tummy ache or abdominal pain

•  Poor weight gain/growth

•  Refusing food

I should emphasise that these symptoms relate to my area of gastroenterological expertise in children's health, of which a number of gastroenterological conditions can be diagnosed – perhaps the most common of which is gastroesophageal reflux.

Gastroesophageal reflux (GERD)

GERD occurs when the contents of your child's stomach come back up through their food pipe (oesophagus). This is very common in babies from 0-6 months, and is actually encouraged by parents each time you ‘burp' your baby to bring their food up to help settle them after they have eaten.

Most babies outgrow this as they develop between the ages of 12-18 months, although GERD can still occur occasionally in older children. If however it becomes a persistent problem and your child experiences any of the red flags listed above, I highly recommend you visit your GP to help determine whether your child needs an onward referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist for further investigations, and specialised treatment if required.

Diet and nutrition

When it comes to dietary and nutritional advice for children, the countless books, theories and expert opinions aimed at parents can I'm sure sometimes leave you rather confused as to what you should and shouldn't feed your own children. This is why I advise all parents who visit me at Chiswick Medical Centre that a healthy and well-balanced diet is always the best approach.

In terms of growth stages, in the first six months of your baby's life good nutrition is paramount for their growth and development. As they progress into young childhood, a healthy diet should include all major food groups. Instilling healthy eating and good eating behaviours early on will also reduce the likelihood of faddy eating and feeding difficulties.

Based on current scientific evidence, it's also important not to exclude foods unless your child has been advised to avoid them due to diagnosed food allergies, or food intolerances that relate to specific conditions such as coeliac disease.

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January 28, 2020