Rumination Syndrome In Children

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Written by Editorial Team

Editorial Team

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting..

The word rumination occurs from cows, or animals that regurgitate food as part of their normal digestive method. Rumination syndrome is a unique disease that strikes kids and some adults. Rumination syndrome in children means the kids will eat or feed normally, but after about an hour or two, unprocessed food comes back up into their mouth from the throat. Typically this occurs at every feed, day after day.

rumination syndrome

Although still limited, it is being diagnosed in both children and adults. Researchers think that rumination syndrome in children may be occurring just because doctors are seeing and diagnosing rumination syndrome more often than they did in history, not because it is occurring more often.

What are the Causes of Rumination Syndrome in Children?

Rumination syndrome in children is distinct from vomiting. With rumination, the food is undigested and usually still feels the same as when it was first tasted. Researchers think that although rumination is oblivious, it is from the voluntary muscle recreation of the diaphragm that it has become a solid habit. It may be a change of the usual belching reflex rather than burping up gas, the reflex induces real food to come back up.

rumination disorder

How is it Diagnosed?

As vomiting is much more general, rumination syndrome is usually misdiagnosed as a vomiting sickness such as gastroparesis or gastroesophageal reflux disease.

To recognize rumination syndrome well, doctors need to ask the right queries. For instance, asking what the food tastes like when it comes up is crucial. If the answer is that it still tastes good, this means that the food is undigested, making rumination syndrome a good chance. Vomited food has been ingested and typically is not stored in your mouth.

Prevention of Rumination Syndrome in Children:

No medicines are available to completely treat rumination disorder. According to the most current analysis, by far the most reliable way to prevent rumination syndrome in children is to relearn how to feed and digest food well with diaphragmatic rebreathing training.

This method is typically trained by a behavioral psychologist, and it is simple to learn. It has to be used at the origin of all meals to evade regurgitation. Over time, most people can learn the breathing method and discard the repulsive signs of rumination disorder.

rumination syndrome treatment

Can it be Stopped?

Specialists are not certain why rumination syndrome starts in the first place, so it is unclear what can be done to prevent it. But the diaphragmatic rebreathing training is very powerful at preventing it.

Managing Rumination Syndrome:

The good news about rumination syndrome in children is that it does not appear to do much physical harm. In rare cases, it can cause dilemmas with the esophagus. And in some teenagers, it has caused a little amount of weight loss.

Work with your specialist or your child’s doctor to know the symptoms and then with a behavioral psychologist to put a stop to the pattern.

rumination syndrome symptoms

The Result on Quality of Life:

While rumination syndrome itself is not life-threatening, the difficulties that occur around the rumination are very debilitating. Some of these difficulties are:

Increased Gastrointestinal Intolerance (GI) sensitivity occurring in critical abdominal pain, nausea, bloating.
Higher risk for dehydration, scurvy, and weight loss.
Poor school presence due to their dilemmas with rumination syndrome
No longer engaging in sports or athletic activities
Emotional conflicts leading to stress, depression, and fear

Therefore, rumination syndrome in children, though common, can sometimes become critical. Thus, it is crucial to consult the best doctors to deal with this rumination syndrome.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Rumination Syndrome?

A state where a person ejects the food from the stomach rechews it and either eat it again or drools it out. It serves to happen within 30 minutes of each meal.

What are Rumination Syndrome Symptoms in Children?

Restated regurgitation of food.
Restated re-chewing of food.
Weight loss.
Bad breath and tooth decay.

What are Rumination Syndrome Causes in Children?

Physical sickness or critical stress may trigger the action. Oversight of or an abnormal connection between the child and the mother or other main caregiver may prompt the child to depend on self-comfort.

Editorial Team,

With a rich experience in pregnancy and parenting, our team of experts create insightful, well-curated, and easy-to-read content for our to-be-parents and parents at all stages of parenting.Read more.

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