Underweight – Urinary Disturbances
Umbilical Hernia. See Hernia
Underweight. Before you worry about an underweight child, make sure
that the child really is underweight. Children have individual growth
patterns, so that the “normal” weight for age and height varies. Let
your doctor decide whether your child is underweight. The doctor can
also look into the cause of the child’s weight problem.
Most underweight children do not eat enough. Sometimes underweight may
be caused by a chronic illness or emotional upsets. Anorexia nervosa and
bulimia are important though infrequent causes of weight loss in
adolescent girls.
Perhaps your youngster is eating enough food, but the food lacks
nutritive value. A nutritionally balanced diet may be all that the child
needs to gain weight. Rarely, the child may be eating nutritious foods,
but a chronic disease, such as chronic diarrhea, regional enteritis, or
a metabolic disorder, may prevent the body from absorbing or using food
properly.
In rare eases, a young body uses food too rapidly. An overactive thyroid
gland can cause such a condition.
Some children lose interest in food because their parents worry too much
about
eating habits. Too often, parents coax the child to eat.
An infant, unless physically sick, usually eats enough to keep gaining a
reasonable amount of weight. Children may briefly lose interest in food
during their second year, as they begin to walk and explore the
environment. Also at this time, they lose the chubbiness of infancy.
This loss makes many parents mistakenly believe that children are not
eating as well as they should. This is not the time to coax a child to
eat, because you may cause a chronic eating problem. The child usually
starts eating properly again.
An illness may make a child lack appetite for a while. Again, do not
coax. The child usually regains appetite with recovery. Jealousy of a
new baby, depression, or unhappiness may also make a child stop eating
as much as usual.
If your doctor tells you there is no cause for concern, stop talking
about weight. Constant reminders can make a normally thin child feel
uneasy, [mg.]
See also Anorexia nervosa
Undescended testicles. Normally, a boy’s testicles descend from the
abdomen into the scrotum (the pouch of skin that hangs under the boy’s
penis) shortly before birth. However, one or both testicles may still be
in the abdomen or groin when a boy is born, particularly if he is born
prematurely. In most cases, the testicles descend shortly after birth.
If you think your son has undescended testicles, consult the
pediatrician.
Many boys have highly sensitive testicles that retract into the groin or
abdomen whenever the testicles become chilled, or whenever the boy’s
thighs or scrotum are touched. These are not true undescended testicles.
They are mobile undescended testicles. Most undescended testicles are
mobile.
A doctor may have to examine a boy many times to determine whether a
testicle is truly undescended. Parents can check to see if the testicle
descends when the boy sits in a tub of warm water. If the testicle has
been seen in the scrotum, or if the testicle can be moved into the
scrotum by the doctor, the testicle is mobile. No treatment is
needed. The testicle will descend normally before adolescence.
Surgery and hormone treatment are used to correct true undescended
testicles. Some doctors recommend hormone treatment to see if the
testicle will descend without surgery. Surgeons are now frequently
advising that an operation be performed to place the testicle in the
scrotum before the boy’s second birthday, if hormonal therapy fails. If
surgery is planned, the parents and the doctor should explain to the boy
the reason, reassuring him that he will be completely normal after the
operation, [m.g.]
Upset stomach. See Colic; Communicable diseases; Food poisoning;
Motion sickness; Stomachache; Vomiting
Urinary disturbances. Children can develop several types of urinary
disturbances, including unusual frequency of urination, decreased
urination, blood in the urine, and enuresis (persistent, involuntary
wetting after the child is about 4 years old). Consult your doctor if
you suspect that your child has a urinary disturbance.
Unusual frequency of urination is a common disturbance. It often
signals an infection of the urinary tract. Pain or a burning sensation
when urinating is often part of a urinary tract infection. An infant
obviously cannot use words to describe the discomfort, but such a child
is often feverish and may be irritable and cry excessively. A doctor can
determine whether infection is present by examining the urine.
Most urinary infections are cleared up with antibiotics. If an infection
does not clear up, its cause may be an abnormality in the formation of
the kidneys, the bladder, or the ureters (the tubes that connect each
kidney to the bladder). Or, an abnormality of the urethra (the passage
through which urine flows from the bladder to outside the body) may be
responsible for poor urine flow and infection. When infection of the
urinary passages occurs, the doctor may examine the urinary tract by
indirect means, such as by ultrasound or a pyelogi\’am (an X ray of the
kidneys and ureters), or by direct means,
such as with a cystoscope (an instrument to examine the inside of the
bladder).
Unusual frequency of urination may also be a symptom of anxiety in
children. Frequent urination and a large increase in the amount of urine
produced may also be a symptom of diabetes.
Decreased urination may result if the child’s bladder retains the
urine because of an obstruction. Decreased urination may also result
from a decrease in the production of urine. This decrease may be caused
by nephritis (a kidney disease), poisoning by certain drugs or metals,
obstruction in the urinary tract, or dehydration.
Blood in the urine should be reported to the doctor. Remember,
however, that a child’s urine may sometimes appear red after the child
has eaten beets. Slight bleeding may result if ammonia, which forms from
urine, causes ulceration of the urinary opening of a baby boy’s penis.
The blood is bright red and appears in only the first few drops of urine
passed. Blood in the urine may also occur because of nephritis,
infection, certain types of anemia, poisoning, or some abnormality of
the urinary tract.
Enuresis usually occurs during the night but may also happen during
the day. Enuresis may be developmentally normal or may be caused by many
things—a defect in the urinary tract, a urinary infection, or
emotional disturbances. Enuresis may also be simply a family pattern. Or
it may just be that the child is a sound sleeper and is not awakened by
the feeling of a full bladder, [m.g.]
See also Dehydration; Diabetes mellitus; Hysteria; Nephritis;
Wetting
