Chest pain

Complaints about chest pain when breathing or when coughing occur in children quite often. In adolescents, malaises,

related to this, are observed more often than in young children. Fortunately, serious diseases, such as heart disease, are rare at this age.

Often, pain in the chest is accompanied by a burning sensation, increased skin sensitivity.

To find out the cause of pain, it is important that the child accurately indicates to you the place where he feels pain, and observed whether it is intensifying or decreasing with movement or breathing. It is also necessary to find out how and when the pain began.

All this is necessary for the first conversation with the doctor.

Possible causes of

The causes of chest pain can be very different - from injury to fall and ending with a serious infectious disease.

Sometimes pain in the chest is associated with the emotional sphere. For example, a small child, complaining that his chest hurts to attract attention, usually imitates adults who often complain of pain in the heart. An older child may be worried about another matter( for example, he has not learned the lesson and is afraid that he will be called to the board), and chest pains can be the main manifestation of this anxiety. Keep in mind, and in these cases

pain is real for the child, even if there is no obvious physiological reason for this. When chest pains are associated with psychological factors, they quickly disappear if the child is distracted, 1 will do what he likes, play, or fall asleep.

Development of thoracic

Development of mammary glands in de-vochets and boys in adolescence can cause swelling of the glands and, as a consequence, chest pains. However, they are short and last usually not more than two months.

A blow to the chest during a game, when playing sports or as a result of an accident, can cause pain in the chest, a swelling, a scratch or a bruise is noticeable. The child should be hospitalized, if he received a severe blow to the chest or serious injury. The mobility of the child is thus limited, and he feels severe pain.

Pulmonary infections( pneumonia) and bronchitis

If the pleura is affected, the pain is concentrated in the specific place of the breast and is acute, stitching. To reduce pain, the child begins to breathe quickly and shallowly. Cough or other abrupt movements pain intensifies, especially when the cough is strained and prolonged. In case of infection,

complaints are frequent in the pain under the ribs in the anterior part of the body.

respiratory tract disease

Chest pain is often the result of pleurodynia - a viral respiratory disease. Most often it passes through one or two weeks after recovery.

irritation of the esophagus

When the acid content of the stomach rises up the esophagus, it can cause indigestion and malaise, and then there is acute, burning pain, especially after eating.

If a child swallows a foreign body stuck in the throat, it also causes difficulty in swallowing and chest pain.

As possible in more detail and more accurately find out the child's possible cause of pain.

Pain, which is mainly caused by a child's emotions, can be detected by parents without consulting a doctor, especially if mental discomfort has occurred recently. The pain disappears if the child can distract from it by some interesting occupation. But if this condition lasts not one day, it is better to consult a doctor. Be sure to check with your doctor, if:

chest pain is accompanied by other symptoms: frequent cough, low fever;

pain caused by a mild stroke or chest trauma persists, but not in intensive form, more than one day. In such a situation, pain, although constant, should not interfere with the child's normal activity;

there are frequent mild chest pains. Immediately call a doctor, if:

chest pain is severe and persistent. The pain is accompanied by a high temperature, above 38.5 ° C;

the child can not take a deep breath because of the pain;The

child can not lead a normal life. The child breathes often, he does not have enough air, the temperature is raised;The

child received a blow to the chest or injury, but can walk and move despite severe pain.

If the baby can indicate the place where it was hit, this is very important information for the doctor. If the child is intensely engaged in physical exercises, sports, then ask him to repeat his movements and pay attention to the moment when the pain intensifies.

If the pain is insignificant or psychological, children usually continue their usual activities, easily distracted and forget about the ailment, in addition, they usually do not break sleep.

Pains caused by psychological causes are usually associated with stressful circumstances: pressure on the child in school, sports or meetings with one of the parents, if they are divorced. An insignificant or emotion-based pain can be controlled at home. But if the complaints last a long time, then pay a visit to the doctor.

For chest pain, you should be guided by common sense and with little discomfort, you should not worry. But a serious blow to the chest or pain with pronounced other symptoms requires immediate qualified participation of physicians.

The doctor will track the course of the disease and the history of illness of family members, will conduct a physical examination of your child.

He should find out whether the child had before the disease of the chest, asthma or anemia with sickle-shaped erythrocytes. It is also important for the doctor whether the family members experienced such pain. During a physical examination, he will determine the sore spot, find out whether pain is aggravated by movement or breathing. You should tell the doctor if your child has had recent chest injuries, and whether the pain is associated with eating. Often! Such verification is enough to establish the source of pain and take the necessary therapeutic measures.

Additional tests may be required to study pain at a specific place of the breast( for example, in the ribs after trauma, pain that may be associated with heart disease).This can be the roentgenography of the ribs and chest, a blood test, and( in some cases) the study of cardiac activity - an electrocardiogram or an echocardiogram.