What is hernia in children? What are the symptoms of hernia in children?

When a child gets hernia, it is not only painful but also very harmful, and the family members are also worried. Pediatric hernia is not only caused by congenital factors, but also by acquired factors. For example, loud crying, sneezing, etc. in children can cause hernia. It is more common in boys, but girls should also pay attention. So, what is pediatric hernia? Let's learn more about it.

reason

The root cause of inguinal hernia in children is that the processus vaginalis fails to close in time. The processus vaginalis is formed by the descent of the testicle or the round ligament of the uterus and usually closes within one year after birth. Most of the unclosed processus vaginalis in newborns and infants do not completely close within six months, but not all of them form hernias. For example, premature babies and low-weight babies are more likely to develop inguinal hernias if the baby's abdominal wall is not strong enough. Other conditions, such as excessive crying, constipation, coughing, and other conditions that increase internal pressure may also lead to the formation of hernias. The right testicle generally descends later than the left, and the processus vaginalis takes longer to close. Therefore, right-side inguinal hernias are more common than left-side inguinal hernias, and unilateral inguinal hernias are more common than bilateral inguinal hernias.

Umbilical hernia in children occurs because the umbilical ring does not close. The umbilical ring is formed in the embryonic stage and continues to shrink as the fetus grows. The diameter of the umbilical ring of a normal newborn is about 1 cm. Under normal circumstances, it will continue to shrink until it is finally closed after birth. After the umbilical cord falls off, the umbilical scar is a congenital defect. At the same time, the anterior and posterior scabs of the rectus abdominis muscle do not close in the umbilical cord, forming a defect, which provides conditions for the occurrence of umbilical hernia. Various factors that increase intra-abdominal pressure, such as crying, constipation, diarrhea, coughing, etc., may lead to the occurrence of umbilical hernia in children.

Clinical manifestations

Characteristic clinical manifestations: Sometimes there is no or sometimes large and sometimes small mass in the groin area or umbilicus. Due to the increase in intra-abdominal pressure caused by standing and crying, the mass will appear or become larger, and disappear after lying on the back or stopping crying in the early stage. In the early stage, except for the characteristic manifestation of the mass, most children have no obvious discomfort, and most parents take their children to see a doctor because they find a small local mass in the groin, asymmetrical scrotum or umbilicus.

As age increases, the hernia sac will continue to increase and may become incarcerated and strangled, or even cause testicular or ovarian infarction and atrophy, so it should be treated promptly.

Hernia, also known as intestinal hernia, is a mass formed when the abdominal organs protrude from their normal position through the holes or weak points on the abdominal wall. It is usually caused by coughing, constipation, anger, heavy physical labor, urination difficulties, etc., which cause the abdominal cavity pressure to suddenly increase and break through the peritoneum of the hernia ring. In children, it is often caused by crying.

The general incidence of hernia is 1-4%, which is 10 times that of girls in boys and higher in premature babies. It may occur on both sides. Pediatric hernia may occur a few days, months or years after birth. Usually when the child cries, exercises vigorously or has dry stools, there will be a protruding mass in the groin, which sometimes extends to the scrotum or labia; it will disappear by itself when lying down or pressing with hands. Once the hernia mass becomes incarcerated (the hernia mass cannot be retracted), abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever, anorexia or crying, irritability will occur.

(1) Hydrocele: It is divided into testicular hydrocele and spermatic hydrocele. It is also divided into communicating and non-communicating types.

Symptoms: Gradually increases in size, does not disappear when pressed, and is painless.

(2) Small intestinal hernia: divided into direct hernia, indirect hernia, femoral hernia, umbilical hernia, white line hernia, incarcerated hernia, strangulated hernia, incisional hernia, etc.

General symptoms: protruding when standing, disappearing when lying on your back, and can be pushed back into the abdominal cavity. However, incarcerated hernias and strangulated hernias are painful and difficult to push back into the abdominal cavity. If small intestinal hernias are allowed to develop, adhesions and incarceration are very likely to occur, so they should be treated as soon as possible.

Hernia is when part of a human body tissue or organ leaves its original location and enters another location through a gap, defect or weak part of the human body. Commonly known as "small intestine gas", there are umbilical hernia, direct inguinal hernia, oblique hernia, incisional hernia, surgical recurrent hernia, white line hernia, femoral hernia, etc. Hernia is mostly caused by coughing, sneezing, excessive force, excessive abdominal fat, straining to defecate, pregnancy, excessive crying of children, etc.

Hernias are divided into direct and indirect types. The direct type is caused by a weak abdominal wall and is common in middle-aged and elderly people. More than 95% of pediatric hernias are of the indirect type, commonly known as herniated intestines or dropped intestines. It is the most common type in pediatric surgery, accounting for about 50% of total surgeries. The reason for its formation is that during the development of the fetus in the mother, the testicles extend from the abdominal cavity downward to the groin and then into the scrotum, forming a tube connecting the abdominal cavity and scrotum, which is commonly known as a hernia sac. For female babies, the processus vaginalis extends from the abdominal cavity to the labia majora. The hernia sac of female babies will move along the round ligament, resulting in hernia or edema. In severe cases, the ovaries, fallopian tubes, and even the uterus may fall into the hernia sac.

This structure gradually closes after birth for most babies, but some do not. If the contents of the abdominal cavity, such as the small intestine, enter the groin or even the scrotum through this structure, a hernia is formed. If this structure is not closed but is very small, only ascites may flow in, forming scrotal edema.