Belching in a 3-year-old child: causes and treatment

Burping. In medical manuals, this phenomenon is called reflux, when the contents of the stomach, consisting of gas and food particles, are returned to the esophagus. This process can be both a normal phenomenon associated with improper food intake, and pathological. When burping occurs in young children, it is necessary to monitor the frequency of its manifestation, the sensations of the child, the frequency of occurrence and the presence of smell. The article will discuss burping in a 3-year-old child, why it occurs and what actions parents should take.

What it is?

Belching is an unreasonable release of air, sometimes with a small amount of stomach contents through the mouth. This action is not always manifested by pathology. The stomach of the individual is not a hermetically isolated organ and inside it normally contains up to one and a half liters of air, which provides normal internal pressure. There are two ways to remove air from the stomach, through:

• intestines - leaves the anus, partially absorbed by the walls of the intestine;
• esophagus - belching occurs.

With a rather voluminous intake of food in the stomach, part of the air leaves it. This picture is quite natural and indicates normal gastrointestinal motility. If a child 3 years old burps after eating, when he dined tightly, occurs several times with air, then this is normal. In addition, reflux:

• activates the production of gastric juice;
• contributes to the normal digestion of food;
• protects against stretching the wall of the stomach.

Sometimes burping takes a frequent and painful character, the causes of which are determined by the doctor.

Belching, spitting up and vomiting

All three processes at the physiological level differ from each other. Wherein:

• Belching - excess air comes out of the stomach through the mouth due to ingestion of it during eating or when consuming a significant amount of food.
• Regurgitation is the ejection of food from the stomach and esophagus without any effort. The child often does not appear negative emotions.
• Vomiting - occurs when the muscles of the abdominal cavity are tensioned, the child turns pale, the pulse increases, the temperature of the limbs decreases.

Causes of belching in children in 3 years

The causes of air reflux in children of three years of age can be completely different. They arise from:

• A large amount of food taken with food.
• Drinking drinks containing gas.
• Fatty foods, legumes, garlic, onions.
• Wear tight clothing and tight belts that prevent the stomach from expanding after eating.
• Conversation while eating.
• Intense physical activity, when there is a sharp displacement of the contents of the stomach and part of the air goes out.
• A burping air in a 3-year-old child often appears from swallowing and poor chewing.
• Emotional overexcitation.
• Nervous shock.
• Frequent inhalation in the treatment of diseases of the oropharynx.
• Diseases of chronic tonsillitis, runny nose. If breathing is difficult, a large amount of air is also swallowed.
• Problems with the work of the digestive tract with severe salivation.
• Dental diseases.

Parents need to be very attentive to the behavior of their child and try to notice everything that happens to him so as not to miss serious complications.

Why does belching have a different taste and smell?

We will focus on the causes of burping in a child of 3 years, having a rotten smell, as well as a bitter and sour taste:

• The most unpleasant symptom is putrefactive odor with belching. This means that in the stomach there is a fermentation process caused by the bacteria in it. The low acidity of the gastric juice is not able to overcome them. This situation occurs with atrophic gastritis, when the tissues of the gastric mucosa are disrupted and the number of glands that produce gastric juice is reduced.
• The taste is bitter. It most often arises from the content of bile in the esophagus. Bile is produced in the liver and through special ducts; it enters the duodenum for digestion of food. With some violations of the digestive system, a reverse flow of bile is observed, and it, overcoming the resistance of the sphincter, is thrown into the stomach and esophagus. The cause of belching in children can be physical activity after eating, pancreatitis, overeating, blockage of the bile ducts and taking certain medications.
• Sour taste. Appears when throwing gastric juice into the esophagus. This is possible with gastric ulcer and gastritis.

Stomach pain and belching

When swallowing, there is a slight air throw into the stomach, normalizing the pressure inside it. Then the excess gradually, in small portions, comes out through the mouth. But if pain in the solar plexus is attached to the belching, then this indicates pathological changes in the diaphragm. Frequent reflux of air after eating and pain can occur against the background of the formation of a hernia. The lower part of the esophagus passes through the diaphragm, therefore, when moving food, due to violation of the sphincters, the gastric juice spills into the esophagus, causing not only frequent burping of the child with air, but also:

• burning in the throat;
• bitter taste in the mouth;
• inconsistent heart rate.

Sometimes the pain in the stomach is completely unrelated to the functioning of the digestive organs. Some nervous and cardiovascular ailments also cause belching of air after eating. Factors that trigger the release of gas include:

• cardiospasm;
• neurosis;
• insufficiency: vascular or cardiac.

All of these violations of the child's body require immediate treatment.

Gastrointestinal diseases

Attentive parents will always notice a violation in the work of the digestive tract in the child. Problems can be accompanied not only by the release of gases accumulated in the stomach through the mouth, but also by abdominal pain, and possibly diarrhea. Frequent burping in a 3-year-old child occurs as a result of various pathological conditions:

• A hernia located in the esophageal opening of the diaphragm. In this case, part of the stomach and esophagus is displaced into the chest cavity. In connection with the malfunction of the sphincter, acidic contents from the stomach are thrown into the esophagus, reflux and heartburn occur.
• Pancreatitis in both acute and chronic form. Inflammation of the pancreas leads to a malfunction in its work. Food stagnates in the intestine, fermentation begins with increased formation of gases escaping through the mouth.
• Gastroesophageal reflux disease. With its manifestation, the contents of the stomach are regularly refluxed into the esophagus. This factor provokes heartburn and belching after eating in a 3-year-old child.
• Peptic ulcer of the duodenum or stomach. In addition to belching and heartburn, a sick child often has hunger and night pains in the stomach, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.
• Malignant and benign neoplasms. Tumors in the gastrointestinal tract compress organs, increasing pressure growth, which leads to the appearance of reflux.

If there is frequent burping in the child, his examination is necessary to diagnose the disease and prescribe therapy.

Belching with rotten eggs in a child

Belching with rotten eggs can be triggered by poor-quality products containing sulfur. This category includes products containing protein: meat, fish, eggs, milk, vegetables, cereals. Usually, belching is accompanied by diarrhea. Disruption of the digestive system threatens with dehydration, so urgent measures must be taken. A strong belching in a child at 3 years old, having the smell of rotten eggs, occurs with the following diseases:

• Salmonellosis is one of the most famous causes of burping with the smell of rotten eggs. The ailment is accompanied by a sharp rise in temperature, abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting. The disease is infectious in nature, therefore, it is immediately necessary to begin treatment of the child.
• Poisoning - takes the second place after salmonellosis in the frequency of burping with the smell of rotten eggs. The disease is accompanied by diarrhea, intoxication, vomiting.
• Inflammation of the pancreas - a lack of enzymes inhibits the process of digestion of food, its fermentation begins.
• Inflammatory process of the gastric mucosa - microflora is disturbed.
• Improper nutrition - overeating meat and fatty foods. Symptoms of intoxication associated with its fermentation are added to the belching.
• Lack of bile - delays digestion of food.
• Individual intolerance to products - they are not absorbed, causing fermentation and related symptoms.

The list of factors provoking belching with rotten eggs can be continued. Here are the most common cases when hydrogen sulfide is produced.

Belching food in a child 3 years old

Many children get used to the kindergarten poorly and endure the period of adaptation hard. The baby is nervous, which contributes to spasmodic muscle contraction. After eating, he sometimes spits up air, and often undigested food, and vomiting is also possible. Over time, the child gets used to the living conditions in the kindergarten, the stress state goes away. After this, colds usually begin. A weak immune system can not cope with the invasion of pathogens. The baby's throat becomes inflamed, a runny nose appears.

He does not breathe through the nose, and when breathing through the mouth, an excess amount of air accumulates in the stomach and an eructation occurs in the child with air. A large concentration of babies in the kindergarten and non-observance of appropriate hygiene contributes to infection with helminths, which cause allergic reactions, coughing and burping. In addition, serious gastrointestinal pathologies arise, one of the clinical manifestations of which is belching.

Tips by Dr. Komarovsky

Belching - an involuntary release of accumulated air in the stomach through the mouth - a child can occur up to ten times a day. Odorless reflux and other unpleasant symptoms are normal and beneficial. It helps to strengthen the motility of the digestive system, relieves the child of excess gas, which stretch the stomach and cause pain. Belching with other symptoms joining it, nausea, abdominal pain, bad breath, indicates digestive disorders. If a child has burped at age 3, Dr. Komarovsky advises parents to take the following actions:

• Establish a diet: avoid overeating, often in small portions.
• Teach your child to chew food carefully. Without developing such a skill in childhood, the individual and adulthood will have problems with the gastrointestinal tract.
• Remove unhealthy foods from the menu: carbonated drinks, snacks.
• Observe rest and wakefulness.
• After eating, you need a short break before outdoor games.
• Obligatory physical activity and daily walks.
• Maintain a calm environment in the house so that the child can completely relax.

If the implementation of the above tips does not fix the problem, then the help of a physician is needed.

Belching and vomiting

Frequent belching in a child of 3 years, heartburn, and then vomiting can indicate violations in the digestive tract. The same symptoms indicate a child’s nervous state and stress. In addition, the following situations are possible:

• The disorder is caused by overeating. To belching and vomiting, pain in the abdomen is added.
• Increased acidity. Vomit consists of a liquid with a sour smell and a slight admixture of food masses.
• Failure of the evacuation motor function of the stomach. Vomiting contains a sour or rotten taste.

All cases require medical attention. Vomiting reaction can lead to dehydration of the child's body.

Burping constantly

Why does a child burp at 3 years? The reasons for this phenomenon, as noted earlier, are many. But if she torments the child constantly, then this is most likely connected with a digestion disorder, when during the digestion of food products gas is produced in excess. This is possible in the following cases:

• The child washes food with plenty of water. As a result, swallows a lot of air and chews it poorly.
• Reduced or increased acidity of the stomach. In the first case, the child is burping with putrid sulfur, and in the second - sour or bitter aftertaste. In addition, heartburn, nausea and stomach pain appear.
• Gastritis occurs at any age and even in a child at 3 years old. Constant belching with a putrid, rotten smell is one of the symptoms of this disease. Aching or acute abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite and rapid satiety join it.

If constant reflux with smells is detected in a child, an urgent consultation with a doctor is necessary, diseases can be very serious.

Hiccups and burps

Hiccup - a failure of the function of external respiration associated with an involuntary contraction of the diaphragm and the simultaneous closure of the epiglottis. In most cases, it occurs suddenly. Hiccups appear in a child with:

• emotional stress;
• hypothermia;
• overeating.

It is rarely considered a symptom of pathologies. Belching, on the contrary, never occurs suddenly. Its appearance is associated with food intake, and various diseases of the digestive tract provoke it. Hiccups, accompanied by belching, are most often a symptom of some diseases associated with malnutrition and nervous shocks. And hiccups and burping in a 3-year-old child are often signs of overeating or dry food.

Sour burping in a child

Acid belching in a child may appear:

• Immediately after a meal. The reason is incomplete closure of the valve between the esophagus and gastrointestinal tract. Gastric juice is thrown into the esophagus.
• After half an hour - there may be a lack of enzymes for the assimilation of food, the fermentation process begins and acidic gases are released outside. The problem is associated with malfunctions of the pancreas.
• One hundred twenty minutes after eating. The presumptive diagnosis is gastritis with increased acidity of the gastric juice.

To eliminate burping in a 3-year-old child, the cause of acid reflux is first established. In this case, you can’t do without a doctor’s prescription, but parents also need to be attentive to their child and choose the right products for him to eliminate the undesirable symptom.

Belching and gas in babies

Reflux and gases in babies are formed at any age. If the digestive process is disturbed, increased gas discharge occurs. And their increased formation and reflux occur when consuming large amounts of fiber and swallowing air during meals. To fix the problem, you need to change the diet of the child. Remove foods that are high in carbohydrates:

• all kinds of cabbage;
• peas, beans, beans;
• carbonated drinks;
• some fruits (apples, pears, peaches).

To get rid of belching it is recommended:

• Do not engage in outdoor games immediately after eating;
• eat leisurely and in small portions;
• do not speak while eating.

If the condition after the measures taken does not improve and pain appears in the abdomen, then you need to contact a gastroenterologist.

Belching treatments

Treatment of any disease, including belching in children, begins with a diagnosis, during which the causes of the malaise are identified. In addition, before a diagnosis is made, a diet is prescribed. It is advisable for parents to remove foods that cause bloating, as well as carbonated drinks, reduce one-time servings, and switch to a 5- or 6-time meal. After the diagnosis and the establishment of an accurate diagnosis, appropriate therapy is carried out. Apply treatment depending on the type of belching:

• By air - eliminate simple diet and the correct behavior of the child during meals.
• With an acidic or bitter taste, indicating an excessive secretion of gastric juice, they are treated with alkalizing agents, which the doctor will prescribe.
• Belching with food in a 3-year-old child with the smell of rotten eggs, indicating gastrointestinal diseases (gastric ulcer, gastritis, intestinal microflora disorders), is eliminated by therapy, using a therapeutic diet, enzymes, and gymnastics. In extreme cases, resort to surgical treatment.
• With an unpleasant, rotten odor and a bitter aftertaste, they are treated with medications that are recommended by a gastroenterologist, additionally using therapeutic exercises and diet food.
• Appearing before meals is eliminated by the use of missing lactobacilli, which normalize the disturbed intestinal flora.
• Heartburn associated with it is eliminated by proper nutrition, avoiding overeating. For more serious reasons (pancreatitis, gastritis, cholecystitis), a gastroenterologist appoints a complex treatment.

All therapy is carried out strictly under the supervision of the attending doctor.

Conclusion

Belching in a child of any age is caused by natural phenomena that occur in the body. The process of digestion of food is periodically accompanied by the removal of excess air from the stomach, through the oral cavity. Sometimes burping in a child of 3 years without a smell or taste does not cause him discomfort, testifies to the normal state of health of the baby. In this case, there is no reason for parents to worry and consult a doctor. But if reflux becomes frequent, and an unpleasant odor appears from the mouth, pain occurs in the abdomen, then the child must be shown to the doctor.