Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: neilep on 29/01/2006 15:42:08
-
This is question 93 in a series of 3475 baby related questions:
My son James (nearly 6 months) has what is called an umbilical hernia...it looks as if he has a fleshy ping pong ball for a belly button !!..it expands and deflates during crying and coughing etc...
Will it go down ?
My daughter had one too and I am sure by now it had become a normal belly button.
I am concerned !..are there any overiding health issues because of this ?
Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!
-
"Strangulated" hernias occasionally occur in children, which would require immediate surgery,
however ""most umbilical hernias in children close spontaneously"", (i.e. do not require surgery).:-
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=11428612&dopt=Abstract
""Strangulated hernia:
A loop of intestine in the hernia may become pinched or strangulated. This means that the blood supply to that area of intestine is decreased or cut off. If this happens, you may feel very bad pain in your abdomen. Other signs may include nausea, vomiting, or a high body temperature (fever). You may have constipation (trouble having a BM) or blood in your BMs. If your intestine becomes blocked, you may not be able to pass gas or have a BM. If the hernia is not treated right away, that part of your intestine may die. This is called gangrene (GANG-green), and it can be life threatening.""
http://www.healthtouch.com/bin/EContent_HT/cnoteShowLfts.asp?fname=07189&title=UMBILICAL+HERNIA+&cid=HTHLTH
Note: "BM" = Bowel Motion = ("Poo").
-
Thanks Robert...those are really helpful links. It's appreciated,
Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!
-
With puppies, it is said that taping a coin over the umbilical hernia pushes it back inside the muscle walls and allows the muscles to grow strong enough to hold it in place beneath them. I would favour using a marble taped over the protrusion as this would push it in further, on puppies that is.
Maybe there is something similar used for babies?
You do know why we have our cord tied off at birth don't you? It's to stop us shooting up to the ceiling and flying around the room making all sorts of rude noises before plopping back to earth.
"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct."
K.I.S. "Keep it simple!"
-
Providing James is producing faeces and flatus , (thats pooing and farting), then you need not worry about him having an obstructed bowel because of strangulated hernia.
One symptom of an obstructed bowel is feculent vomit, (i.e. puking sh*t), although this can occur for reasons other than strangulated hernia, immediate medical attention should be sought if this occurs.
-
Thanks Andrew, Thanks again Robert,
James is fine with his ping-pong belly button !! We've seen this before in our daughter and it eventually returned to normal. I had it in my mind that it should be better by now, but James is only 5 months old and I have also heard that it can take as long as a few years !..however, looking at some photos, it is clear that it is a lot smaller than originally , I have taken into consideration that, in the photos, he was a lot smaller too.
It's weird often when you touch it you can feel ' stuff ' moving through it...I presume this is food going through the intestine eh ?
I think in this case I will just let it go...I don't think he would like having a coin or marble taped to his belly so if things don't improve I plan to use an indsutrial clothes press instead !! [;)]......failng that I'll tape a puppy to his tummy ! [:D]
Thanks again
Men are the same as women.... just inside out !!
-
Hi there! If there is anyone who suffers umbilical hernia and need effective advice how to treat it please look the article how many time it takes to recover aftr this type of hernia. I have read it is almoust about two weeks or more. But the average time of full recovery time from umbilical hernia surgery is about 4-6 weeks. Check this information here http://hernia-treatment.net/repair-umbilical/umbilical-hernia-recovery-time.