lump in 5 year olds belly

[tinkerbellie]

hi
i was justtalking to my son yesterday while he was getting changed and noticed a lump about an inch above his belly button
i personally haven't got one and neither has dd or dh
will amke a docs appointment but what do you think it could be?
he has gone off food but i thought he was just being faddy (maybe now am being paranoid)he says it doesn;t hurt

[fairyjay]

You need to check it out, if only for your own peace of mind. I'm sure it will be fine though - most of the things we worry about are.

[brimfull]

Could it be a hernia?

[DoesntChristmasDragOn]

DS2 has one of these and I took him to the GP when he was, er, 4? Maybe 3.5. The GP wasn't overly concerned and said it could be a hernia, just to keep an eye on it and to come back if we were worried.

[tinkerbellie]

thats what my mum said about the hernia
have made him an appointment for this afternoon to get it checked out
don't they pop it back in if it's a hernia i thought they could be quite serious

[brimfull]

they are caused by a weakness in the muscle wall allowing the intestine to protrude causing the lump.They become dangerous when they are at risk from becoming strangulated ie.the blood can't get to the intestine because restriction from the muscle wall.Some people live with them for ages ,but I thought most childrens' were repaired.I am way behind the times of course and the treatment may be different now.

[foxinsocks]

when you say above his belly button, do you mean towards his chest?

dd had a hernia in exactly that position - it was called an epigastric hernia. Hers wasn't big but ended up being operated on (when she was 4). GP referred us to a peadiatrician (a gastroenterologist) and he took one look at it and told us what it was and scheduled her for a regular op. Took around a 6 month wait from seeing the GP to having the op I think.

I also went to the GP thinking it was nothing.

It's better to get any sort of lump checked out at the GP so good luck!

[tinkerbellie]

yes it is about an inch directly above his belly button and is about the size a marble

[tinkerbellie]

hi
just to let everyone know took him to the docs and he said it is probably a hernia and is sending him for a scan

[nutcracker]

Hiya, Dd2 had a hernia in the same place and was reffered to a paed.

He examined her and said that it was ok to leave it as it wasn't very big, but that if it bothered dd when she got older, she could have surgery on it.

[tinkerbellie]

i hope that this is the same then don't fancy him having to havr an operation