Intussusception

[Morganjack]

Hi I was wondering if anyone elses children have had this. My ds is ten months old and he had it for the second time in Monday and now I'm so worried that it will happen again. The doctors have told me that it's very common but most people I have told have never heard of it.
Has anyone else experienced this and will this come back or be the last of it? I can't help but think that if it's come back a second time ( after nearly three months) that there must be some kind of weakness or something?

Hi Morgan

I don't have experience of my own child having it, but I've seen lots of children with intussusception over the past four years (I'm the person who does the ultrasound scan in the middle of the night, and then the air reduction bit).

At a big hospital we saw about 1 case per week. Almost all of them were treated with air reduction and went on their way without any problems. A few have recurrent episodes, usually within a few days of the first event, but not always.

No-one is really sure what causes it, but one theory is that the lymph nodes near the gut get enlarged when the child has an infection (usually a regular viral cough/cold) and these nodes then act as a 'lead point' to start the gut folding in on itself. To be honest, it is probably just bad luck that your LO has had it twice, rather than implying that there is an underlying problem.

Do you have a follow-up appointment with the paediatricians? If not it might be worth asking for one so you can talk to them. You might want to ask if they would do any further tests if it happened again. If an adult gets an intussusception we look high and low for an underlying problem (because it is very rare in adults). I don't know how many episodes a child would need to have in order for their doctor to start looking.

hope that helps.

thanks antidote that makes me feel better, i dont have a follow up appointment but i am going to see my gp next week to try and get one just to put my mind at ease and make sure really. They said at the hosptial that if it happened a third time then would start to investigate but id rather they looked sooner then it happen again.

Don't be in a hurry to push for extra investigations, especially if they have a process like only investigating further after 3 episodes. There will be a fine balance between the risks and benefits of further tests, it really may be better to wait and see. Any tests may potentially have side effects or just be unpleasant and require a trip to hospital!

Hi - I had this as a child. I had to have surgery (that what was they did in those days - I'm almost 48) I have no advice with regards to it happening twice I'm afraid. Hope your GP can put your mind at rest.