What is umbilical hernia? What effect does umbilical hernia have on babies?

Newborn care requires patience and carefulness. If the baby's umbilical cord is not well cared for, it is easy to cause umbilical hernia. What is umbilical hernia? What effect does umbilical hernia have on the baby? What should I do if umbilical hernia occurs? Let's learn together~

What is umbilical hernia?

Some babies, especially premature babies, will have a round lump protruding outwards at the navel after the umbilical cord falls off. This is an "umbilical hernia". It can be as small as a soybean or as big as a walnut. When the child lies flat and is quiet, the lump disappears, but when the child stands up, cries, coughs, or defecates, the lump protrudes again. If you press the protruding part with your fingers, the lump will easily return to the abdominal cavity, and sometimes you can hear a "gurgling" sound. If you put your fingers into the navel, you can clearly feel the edge of the umbilical hernia.

The cause of umbilical hernia: after the baby's umbilical cord falls off, the rectus abdominis muscles on both sides of the umbilicus have not yet closed. Once the pressure in the abdominal cavity increases, the peritoneum protrudes outward and causes a hernia. The contents of the umbilical hernia are part of the intestine.

How does umbilical hernia affect the baby?

1. Harm to the digestive system

Umbilical hernia in babies will first harm the baby's digestive system. Once the baby's digestive system has problems, nutrient absorption will also be affected, and then the physical fitness will decline, and there will be no disease resistance, so the normal development of the child will also be hindered. This is unavoidable, and when the abdominal pressure rises, umbilical hernia is very easy to occur. The child is too young to be controlled, and it is difficult to avoid increased abdominal pressure. If it lasts for a long time, the child will not only be uncomfortable, but there will also be many dangers. Not only will the digestive system and reproductive function be affected, but it may also cause incarceration and endanger life.

2. Harming the child’s mind

Umbilical hernia can also harm the baby's mind. When the baby's umbilical hernia gradually increases, the child will grow up day by day. When the IQ develops to a certain level, he will find that his body is different from that of normal people, which will cause the child to become depressed and become autistic.

3. Impact on urinary and reproductive organs

Because the hernial sac of umbilical hernia in children compresses the urinary and reproductive organs for a long time, it will cause the child's reproductive organs to develop poorly, thus affecting the child's fertility, and even making the child infertile for life. Therefore, once parents find that their children have symptoms of umbilical hernia, they should take their children to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible, and never delay the best treatment time for umbilical hernia in children.

4. Causing the death of children

If the intestinal tract cannot be retracted for a long time, serious complications such as intestinal ischemia and necrosis may occur. At the same time, intestinal necrosis, obstruction, and severe pain caused by umbilical hernia in babies can cause death of children. It is not an exaggeration to say that umbilical hernia in babies can cause death in children. According to reliable data, there are tens of thousands of deaths of umbilical hernia patients caused by intestinal necrosis every year in my country. Parents should pay special attention.

5. Seriously affects children's growth and development

Due to the protrusion of the hernia, the baby's umbilical hernia can cause pain, abdominal distension, constipation, coughing, milk regurgitation, fever, anorexia and other reactions. It is not only a test for the child's constitution and endurance, but also seriously affects the healthy development of the child's body, leading to a deterioration in the child's physique and weakened resistance. At the same time, for boys, the hernia falls into the scrotum and compresses the reproductive nerves, which can lead to infertility.

Daily care of baby's umbilical hernia

Generally, for children over 1 to 2 years old, for small umbilical hernias (those with a diameter of less than 2 cm), you can ask the pediatric surgeon to use conservative treatment, using adhesive tape to stick the hernia and change it every 1 to 2 weeks. The disadvantage of this method is that the adhesive tape can easily irritate the skin, and you should carefully observe whether there is dermatitis at the place where the tape is applied, and never apply it randomly at home. If conservative treatment is ineffective or the umbilical hernia hole is large, you should go to the hospital for surgery, which has a very good effect. Life care: Children with umbilical hernia generally do not feel pain, and do not cause gastrointestinal dysfunction. Only a very small number of children suffer from intestinal incarceration. Some children may feel uncomfortable due to local expansion. In order to prevent their umbilical hernia from bulging, some parents try to make their children cry less or not cry, and they are obedient to their children. This will cause psychological development disorders over time, and you must pay attention to this.

What to do if you have an umbilical hernia in your newborn

If your baby has an umbilical hernia, you should take care to minimize the chances of increased abdominal pressure, such as not letting your baby cry or make a fuss;

Then adjust your baby's diet to avoid bloating or constipation;

Smaller umbilical hernias, such as those with a diameter of less than 1.5 cm, can heal themselves within 2 years of age as the abdominal wall strengthens. Given that infant umbilical hernias rarely become incarcerated, non-surgical treatment can be given first, using adhesive tape therapy, that is, using a wide strip of adhesive tape to pull the two sides of the abdominal wall toward the midline of the abdomen to fix it to prevent the hernia from protruding and to keep the umbilicus in a tension-free state, so that the umbilicus can gradually heal and close. Change the adhesive tape once a week. If there is adhesive tape dermatitis, use a belly band to apply appropriate pressure instead.

If the baby's umbilical hernia is more prominent but not too large, you can use a one-yuan coin to wrap it with cloth and sew it up, then sew a loose elastic band, stick the coin part to the navel, and tie the whole thing around the baby. If you keep the band on, it will heal. Or mothers can go to the pharmacy and buy an umbilical hernia band, which is more beautiful.

Can umbilical hernia in newborns be cured?

Umbilical hernia in newborns can be cured. Under normal circumstances, the umbilical ring can continue to narrow within 18 months after the baby is born. Therefore, the baby's umbilical hernia may heal on its own and does not require any treatment, because most of them heal on their own within 2 years of age.

Some statistics show that with age, the abdominal muscles become more and more developed, and the umbilical ring gradually becomes smaller and closes. According to statistics, 90% of them close and heal themselves within 6 months after birth, and 95% within a year.

If the baby is over 2 years old and the umbilical hernia has not healed on its own, surgical treatment should be taken. The specific method of the surgery is to make a corresponding arc incision 1 to 2 cm below the umbilical hernia, free the skin flap, and expose the anterior sheath of the rectus abdominis on both sides. After the incision, the skin flap that retains the umbilicus is sutured in situ.