Hopefully Helpful Information about Stomachaches

When you get a pain in your stomach, it might be an actual problem right in your stomach, but not necessarily. Your abdomen is more that your stomach, more that your intestines, it is the whole area between your chest and your pelvic bones.

Inside your abdomen, you have your stomach and your intestines, along with lots of other organs: bladder, kidneys, liver, spleen, pancreas, gallbladder, appendix, and adrenal glands. If you're a girl, your abdomen also includes your uterus and ovaries.

Types of Tummy Troubles

A kid might feel belly pain many reasons, including:

·  Constipation is one of the most common reasons for abdominal pain.

·  Diarrhea is often caused by an infection that some people call "the stomach flu." Doctors call this type of diarrhea/infection gastroenteritis. When you have diarrhea — runny, watery bowel movements — you may also feel sick to your stomach.

·  Vomiting- Feeling sick to your stomach and throwing up can also be linked to gastroenteritis. The pain is one way your body tells you to stay near a bathroom!

·  An infection someplace else in your body may cause belly pain, too. A sore throat, pneumonia, an ear infection, or a cough can sometimes cause tummy trouble as well.

·  Food- Some kids get abdominal pain because they ate too much of something, ate a food that was too spicy or greasy, ate a food they have an allergy to, or ate food that sat around in the fridge for too long and went bad. The pain is the body's way of telling you that your stomach and intestines are having a tough job breaking down or digesting this food. Whatever the cause, funky foods can quickly make your tummy feel funky!

·  Appendicitis or other painful problems. If the pain starts by your belly button and then moves to the lower right side of your abdomen, it might be appendicitis. Fever or vomiting, along with pain that gets worse and worse and a loss of appetite, can also be signs of appendicitis..

·  Stress. Many, many kids (and adults, too) have a "nervous stomach" when they are worried or stressed.

A Pain in the Brain??

If there is no physical reason for abdominal pain, the pain in your gut may really be a pain in your brain. If you're stressed about something, you can get sharp pains in your stomach. Lots of kids do! We must find ways to ease their anxiety. Counselors have great tips for this!

Bye-Bye, Bellyaches

Here are some good tips to follow:

• Don't overeat.
• Eat fiber-rich foods, such as fruits and vegetables, so your bowel movements are regular.
• Wash your hands before eating.
• Don't eat right before bedtime.
• Get lots of sleep so your body doesn't get run down

Above information provided from CHOA.

 

CCSD policy of stomach issues… From Form JGC-6

The following guidelines have been established regarding the exclusion and readmission to school due to illness:

1.  Diarrhea/Watery Stools:  Students will be sent home from school for:

(1)   More than two episodes of diarrhea occurring during a school day.

(2)   One episode of diarrhea if other symptoms are present (e.g. fever, abdominal discomfort, vomiting, etc.)

(3)   Soiling themselves or their clothing.

*Students may return to school 24 hours after the last diarrhea stool if they have no other symptoms present.

2.  Vomiting:  Students will be sent home from school for:

(1)   More than one episode of vomiting occurring during a school day.

(2)   One episode of vomiting if other symptoms are present (e.g. fever, abdominal discomfort,   diarrhea, etc.).

* Students may return to school 24 hours after the last vomiting episode if they have no other symptoms present.