Children and IBS

We so often talk about IBS in relation to adults but what about kids? While it is much less common for kids to be diagnosed with IBS, some symptoms may begin to show up in childhood.

When symptoms like diarrhoea, constipation and bloating have been experienced for as long as someone can remember it makes it hard to differentiate if there is a problem, rather, they may think that what they are experiencing is normal.

So what signs can you look for in kids that you suspect might have some form of digestive issues:

Small dry pellet-like stop

Infrequent bowel movements

Skinny stools

Withholding behaviours (infants and toddlers may withhold bowel motion to avoid pain of passing stool)

Painful bowel motions

Straining

Large hard stools

Haemorrhoids.

Complaints of stomach pains

Distended stomach

Reflux

If you’re finding that your child is experiencing some of these symptoms then you’re probably thinking whats next?

Below is a step by step guide for what should happen next.

1. Assess the severity of your child's symptoms. Is it impacting their day to day life then its best that you check in with your GP. If they are still happy to go about their day normally then start step 2.

2. Increase fibre. Inadequate fibre intake is one of the biggest causes of digestive issues. Fibre has so many different actions on the digestive tract. It helps to regulate bowels, feed good gut bacteria and provides the cells of the digestive tract with fuel. How do you increase fibre? There are a number of ways but starting with increasing fresh fruit and vegetables and whole grains through the diet is an excellent place to start. You can also use a fibre supplement like psyllium husks or slippery elm can help to regulate things once the dose is correct and enough water is being consumed.

3. Add in some probiotics. If the digestive tract has been under some stress (diarrhoea in particular has a big impact on the gut bacteria) then it’s important to put the good bigs back in. Depending on the symptoms being presented will depend on the probiotics that will be needed. Because of this I don’t have a product that I can recommend as it really is a case by case situation.

4. GP visit- for further investigations. If you have done the above points but symptoms are persisting then it’s best to make an appointment with your GP to make sure that there isn’t something underlying going on like coeliac disease.

5. Food elimination. So you’ve had all the necessary tests done, everything has come back clear but symptoms are still persisting? Now it’s time to look at diet and how that may be impacting. Seeing a health care practitioner will be the best way to determine what foods may be causing issues and help you to make sure that the diet is rich in all nutrients needed to allow the child to thrive.