Suggest treatment for stomach pain and weight loss in a child
Patient: My 6 year old constantly has a sore stomach. doesn t want to eat and is not gaining much weight. In 2 weeks she has gone from 20.7kg to 18.1kg and her weight seems to fluctuate between these. She is becoming increasingly lethergic & gets sick easily. I have taken her to doctors numerous times and nothing, i took her again today...she had some blood tests and waiting for a stool sample. She has blood tests before, every thing seemed fine except her iron levels were a little low. Any suggestions on what else I should do. Doctor: Hi,  Whatever you are describing is called Chronic Pain Abdomen in medical terms.  The differential diagnosis of abdominal pain in children varies with age, gender, genetic predisposition, nutritional exposure and many environmental factors.   The causes are many including - constipation / acid peptic disorders / inflammatory bowel disorders / irritable bowel syndrome/worm infestation etc.  I suggest you see your paediatrician or a pediatric gastroenterologist for this.  Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.  Take care  Regards, Dr Sumanth Amperayani, Pediatrician, Pulmonology