Hernia is a disease that we often encounter in our lives, and it can occur in anyone, but the highest incidence is in children.
About 3 out of 100 children have this problem, especially those born prematurely. If the hernia is not treated in time, it may be stuck because of the "hernia", resulting in the necrosis of the boy's sperm nest and has to be urgently removed, and the consequences can be said to be very serious.
The news has reported that there was a 2-year-old boy who delayed treatment because of a severe hernia, resulting in testicular necrosis and loss of fertility.
Hernia is a physiologically underdeveloped. It refers to a part of a tissue or organ that has left its normal position, crossed the boundary to go to other places that should not be gone, protruded and puffed out to weak parts such as muscles of the body, thus forming a bulging lump.
Hernias can be divided into congenital hernias and acquired hernias from the etiology:
1. Congenital hernia: it is due to the baby's congenital development abnormalities and production, there will be an organ or tissue through this congenital gap protruding and form a "hernia", in general, inguinal oblique hernia and umbilical hernia are mainly caused by congenital factors.
2. Acquired hernia: It refers to those "hernias" that appear due to certain disease factors of the day after tomorrow. For example, because of abdominal wall injury, connective tissue abnormalities or drug effects, the muscle tissue of the baby's body is weak or defective, so that the abdominal contents can pass through the defect and protrude, forming a bulging lump. It is like an incisional hernia that is formed secondary to a surgical stoma.
So, how to tell if your baby has a hernia?
In general, a common hernia in medicine is an inguinal hernia, and most of it is an oblique hernia in the groin, which often occurs on the right side and is a congenital scholadenform deformity.
Specifically, this sheathed process is actually a tube that leads from the abdominal cavity through the groin (where the thigh connects to the trunk) to the lower.
In the process of normal fetal growth and development, this pipe will slowly close, and when the baby is born, the pipeline is generally closed.
However, some babies do not close this tube, leaving a gap, that is, there is a continuous opening, which will cause the intestine, ovaries or large omentum to run along the gap into the groin or scrotum, so that the groin or scrotum bulge a lump, which is what we often call the inguinal oblique hernia.
Parents should note that baby girls also have inguinal oblique hernias, but the incidence of boys is higher, generally about 3 to 4 times that of girls.
In baby girls, protrusions extend into the outer labia, the area around the vaginal opening, while in male babies, protrusions extend into the scrotum, the sac-like structure that houses the sperm nest.
The main feature of this hernia is the presence of a lump in the groin or scrotum. Therefore, if parents find that the baby's groin or scrotum has a lump, they should pay great attention to it and seek medical examination in time to see if there is a inguinal oblique hernia.
In addition, babies with oblique inguinal hernias generally have "intermittent inguinal masses". That is, lumps are sometimes protruding (such as when the child is crying, defecating, or straining), but when the baby lies quietly flat or after a good night's sleep, the lumps will disappear on their own. This situation is easy to overlook, and parents should especially observe carefully.
Once the baby is diagnosed with inguinal oblique hernia, there are generally two situations, one is an ordinary inguinal oblique hernia, which may appear and then disappear, and the other is inclinational oblique hernia incarcerated, which is more serious, but no matter which one, it is best to go to the hospital to check it first, and determine the treatment method according to the doctor's advice.
The first condition: oblique inguinal hernia appears and then resolves
This is an ordinary inguinal oblique hernia, its main symptom is when the baby is crying or exerting force, the inguinal area of the lump appears, and it subsides during rest, and some babies may also have symptoms such as irritability and poor appetite.
The fact that the lump can disappear does not have much effect on the baby. In daily life, parents only need to pay attention to avoid making their babies cry often and do strenuous exercise.
However, ordinary oblique hernias can also become more serious at any time – the bulge will not subside, which is the second case to be discussed below.
The second condition: incarcerated inguinal oblique hernia, can not resolve
This hernia is hard to the touch and does not subside. In general, babies will cry violently, vomit, swell their abdomen, and turn red or blue protruding areas.
This condition is medically known as incarceration, which is equivalent to a "time bomb" and is very dangerous. It is an emergency, and if it is incarcerated for a long time, it can lead to ischemic necrosis of the intestinal canal in the hernia.
Therefore, once parents find that the baby's lump is hard, they should immediately take the baby to the doctor and operate as soon as possible.