Kids and tummy aches. How can you ease their pain?

Does your child often complain of a sore tummy? You’re certainly not alone, and this is one of the most common reasons why parents bring their kids to visit us at NatureDoc. Stomach pain can be very debilitating and can affect a child’s mood, appetite and even their sleep and sadly the reality is that conventional medical interventions are very limited when it comes to treating tummy pain.

Thankfully, having some home remedies up your sleeve can help to calm down the pain, and this blog shares my top insights from my 30 years of working as a family naturopath.

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The medical causes and treatments of tummy pains

What can a doctor offer your child if they keep on getting tummy pains? Once your gastroenterologist has ruled out appendicitis, coeliac disease, inflammatory bowel disease or polyps, there are two main scenarios you might be looking at.

If stomach inflammation (known as gastritis) is found, your child might be prescribed a medication to protect the stomach from acid called a proton pump inhibitor, such as omeprazole. This will help with upper gastric pain and reflux.

If constipation is found, this can be a key cause of pain in the lower part of the gut, and in this scenario, laxatives will probably be suggested.

However, much of the time, your child will probably receive a blanket diagnosis of functional abdominal pain of childhood (FAP), which is essentially where there is no apparent cause of the pain and therefore no active medical treatment is offered.

Here is the treatment advice a top London-based private gastroenterologist told me for children who they have diagnosised with FAP:

‘Knowing that the pain is genuine and not dangerous is often helpful. Pain relief with painkillers is often unhelpful and should be avoided. It is very important that such children continue to go to school – just the distraction of school life can help the pain. FAP often occurs in clusters – therefore, even with no action, one can expect the pain to settle.” (NB. this is not medical advice, you should check with your own doctor)

Understandably, this can feel frustrating and disempowering because we as parents instinctively want to be proactive and help to take their pain away.

But here’s the good news, there is a lot that you can do to support your child’s gut health naturally and there are many home remedies that you can have ready at home to nip any belly pain in the bud.

Is anxiety always to blame?

Anxiety can play a role in tummy aches, and it is often cited as the only reason why a child has a sore tummy. I certainly used to feel a bit sick and clammy with a dull tummy ache at the beginning of each school term. However, anxiety is not always the root cause of the belly pain, and instead, it might actually be the underlying gut issues that are driving the anxiety.

Interestingly, if your child has Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), the bacteria lingering in the upper gut can drive anxious feelings, as well as pain and fatigue. This is because the bacterial overgrowth disrupts the gut-brain axis by producing excess gases and inflammatory compounds that affect neurotransmitter balance such as serotonin production. Also, when SIBO is present, nutrient malabsorption and chronic gut inflammation can lead to nutrient deficiencies (such as B vitamins) which are critical for mood regulation.

Similarly, if the gut microbiome is depleted of certain friendly bacteria, this imbalance can lead to both anxiety and tummy pain. This may be because when the gut microbiome is out of balance, your child may not be creating enough calming GABA, which is a neurotransmitter that keeps us cool, chilled out and relaxed and irons out anxious feelings. Beneficial gut bacteria, such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, are the building blocks for producing GABA in the gut. Therefore, nourishing these bacteria through live yoghurt, kefir, and consuming a wide range of fruits and vegetables can be beneficial. On top of this, taking live bacteria supplements containing these strains can also help.

Where is the tummy pain coming from?

Often kids find it difficult to articulate where their tummy pain is coming from and simply point to their tummy button. However, when gently questioned and guided, they can point to a more specific area of the gut. This can offer useful clues about where to start with healing foods and gut health supplements. Pinpointing the location of the pain can often provide really helpful insight into what’s going on.

Upper gut: the diaphragm area and above

Could this be reflux, gastritis, or even H. pylori bacteria? Kids often belch, hiccup, or regurgitate food or acid back into their mouth if the pain is to do with their upper gastric health. They may also be prone to bad breath.

Natural support: Try soothing slippery elm and marshmallow root, which act a bit like calamine lotion on the stomach lining. Mastic gum and liquorice can also soothe and protect the upper digestive tract.

Middle gut: above the belly button

This area is where the small intestine lies. Pain, discomfort or distention here often relates to maldigestion of food and a clue for this might be yellow stools, undigested food in the stools or enormous ‘elephant-sized’ stools. Maldigestion might be due to not producing enough digestive enzymes via the pancreas to break down fats, carbs and protein efficiently. Alternatively, it may be due to damage to the gut lining, such as from coeliac disease or a severe bacterial or parasitic infection.

An overgrowth of pesky SIBO bacteria may also be active in the gut, especially if there’s bloating above the belly button. Both of these can lead to an upper-fermenting gut with bloating starting from just under the diaphragm.

Natural support: Try giving digestive enzymes with each meal if they have signs of maldigestion and trying SIBO-targeted herbs such as oregano and neem can help rebalance the gut.

Lower gut: below the belly button

Pain lower down in the abdomen and below the belly button is usually connected to constipation, faecal loading, or the opposite – loose stools and gas. There can often be cramping that comes alongside which is often relieved by having a bowel movement (but not always).

Natural support: If there is cramping in the gut, then try some ginger tea or a ginger and apple juice ‘shot’. Peppermint oil is also soothing on the gut and helps with pain linked to excess gas.

For the more constipated gut, try magnesium oxide or citrate supplements and also bolster the gut microbiome with some Bacillus coagulans spore-based probiotic. You can also trial a prebiotic called partially hydrolysed guar gum (PHGG) to keep the stool soft and flowing more easily. Flax seeds, kiwi fruit, apples and rye bread also help the bowels to open more easily.

For looser stools start with Saccharomyces boulardii which may well firm things up and also investigate lactose or fructose intolerance or even a long-standing gut infection.

Lower gut: right side of the belly button

If you press two fingers to the right side of their tummy button and they say it is a sharp pain, then it is vital to have things checked out for appendicitis. Sometimes it is not the appendix but instead is low-grade inflammation in the area where the small intestine joins the large intestine, called the ileo-caecal valve and lower ileum.

This is the most delicate part of the gut, and if there is any residual inflammation here from a gastro-enteritis or a virus, it can be very sensitive and painful and can take much longer to calm down. This is where you might want to seek out some 1 to 1 support and testing to help ease the pain.

Natural support: If it is not appendicitis, your first port of call is to give your child fennel or chamomile tea and support with slippery elm, marshmallow root, turmeric, and omega-3 fatty acids at least twice daily. Sometimes when the pain is bad, you might need to give it all three times daily.

Round up

While tummy aches can feel mysterious and worrying, understanding the underlying causes and supporting gut health naturally can make a huge difference to your child’s wellbeing and mood.

As well as a hot water bottle, consider soothing herbal remedies and probiotics, as these provide gentle, and effective ways to help your child feel better. Remember to save this blog for when your child next gets a sore tummy.

If you would like to explore the root cause of your child’s long-term gastric pain, and would like to run a gut function and gut microbiome test and screen for food intolerances, then turn to the support of our NatureDoc clinical team, who can guide you with individual support and help to melt away those horrid tummy pains.

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Kids and tummy aches. How can you ease their pain?

Get our lovely Healthy Bites newsletter each week!

The medical causes and treatments of tummy pains

Is anxiety always to blame?