Abdominal Pain in Children
Your child may complain of a bellyache (abdominal pain) from time to time.
Most of the time, children with mild abdominal pain are not seriously ill; the symptoms go away in a day or two and can be managed at home. However, if your child has severe abdominal pain or has a bellyache along with frequent vomiting, you should contact your child's pediatrician. Abdominal pain that seems to be getting worse or lasting longer than expected also should be discussed with your doctor.
Answering the questions in this health decision guide will help you understand more about what usually causes children to have abdominal pain, and help you know when you should contact your pediatrician for medical care. Please note, this guide is not meant to take the place of a visit to your pediatrician's office.
Children under the age of two can't always communicate what they are feeling, making it harder to figure out what's going on with them.
If your child is under two years of age, call your doctor for advice.
Yes, my child is at least two years old.
No, my child is not two years old yet.
Call your doctor for advice. Your child may be too young to communicate how he is really feeling.
If your child has certain symptoms along with the abdominal pain, it could mean that he has a more serious illness.
Is your child vomiting or feeling nauseated?
Yes, my child is vomiting or nauseated.
No, my child is not vomiting or nauseated.
Your child has abdominal pain but is not vomiting or nauseous.
Do any of the following statements describe your child?
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He has had a constant pain for at least three hours.
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The lower right-side of his belly hurts.
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He has severe pain in his abdomen.
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His pain doesn't go away after he vomits or has a bout of diarrhea.
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His abdomen is hard or swollen.
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He has a high fever (102 F/39 C or higher).
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There is blood in his stool.
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There is swelling in his testicles or scrotum. (If your child is a girl, her groin would be swollen.)
Yes, at least one of those statements describes my child.
No, none of those statements describe my child.
Your child has a bellyache and is vomiting.
When your child vomits, is it a greenish-yellow color, does it contain any blood, or does it look like coffee grounds?
Yes, that describes my child's vomit.
No, that does not describe my child's vomit.
You have said that your child is vomiting or nauseated but the vomit is not greenish-yellow, does not have blood in it, or look like coffee grounds.
Do any of the following statements describe your child?
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He has a high fever (102 F/39 C or higher).
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He says that the abdominal pain is very bad.
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The pain seems to be located in the lower-right part of his abdomen.
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His abdominal pain has been constant, and has lasted for at least three hours.
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His belly is swollen or hard.
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He is vomiting a lot, but it doesn't make him feel better.
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There is blood in his stool.
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His scrotum or groin area is swollen (for girls, the groin area is swollen).
Yes, at least one of those statements describes my child.
No, none of those statements describe my child.
Your child has abdominal pain, but does not have high fever, severe pain, pain in the lower right side, blood in the stool, or swelling of the belly, groin or scrotum.
There is still some concern about a serious medical disorder.
Sometimes abdominal pain is a sign of a problem with the kidneys or bladder (urinary tract).
Do any of these statements describe your child?
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He says it hurts when he urinates.
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He is urinating more frequently than usual.
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He has wet the bed recently, which is very unusual for him.
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His urine smells strong, funny, or bad.
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His urine looks pink or red.
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He has pain right below his belly button or in his lower back.
Yes, at least one of these statements describes my child.
No, this doesn't describe my child.
Since none of those statements describe your child's condition, it is unlikely that he has a urinary tract infection.
Abdominal pain with cough and fever could be just the flu or a bad cold, or possibly pneumonia.
In addition to the abdominal pain, does your child have a cough and fever?
Yes, my child has abdominal pain with cough and fever.
No, my child does not have cough and fever.
Pneumonia is less likely.
A stomach or intestinal infection called gastroenteritis is a common cause of abdominal pain. Usually diarrhea also is present.
Does your child have diarrhea?
Yes, my child has diarrhea.
No, my child does not have diarrhea.
Sometimes children with gastroenteritis won't have diarrhea at first. It may start in the next day or two.
Let's look at some other causes for abdominal pain in children. Children with strep throat sometimes have abdominal pain.
Does your child have a sore throat, swollen glands, sandpapery red rash, fever, and/or headache?
Yes, my child has at least one of these symptoms.
No, my child doesn't have a sore throat, or any of those other symptoms.
It is unlikely that your child's nausea and vomiting are caused by strep throat.
Occasionally a child with a bad cold or the flu gets abdominal pain.
In addition to the belly pain, does your child seem to have a cold or the flu? Is his nose runny or congested?
Yes, my child has some cold or flu symptoms.
No, my child doesn't have cold or flu symptoms.
A reaction to something your child eats or drinks may be triggering the abdominal discomfort with or without nausea and vomiting.
Have you noticed that the pain appears primarily after he drinks milk or eats something?
Yes, my child's pain seems to be related to drinking or eating
No, the belly pain does not seem related to food or beverage.
Your child has belly pain but does not seem to be constipated. That is good. Remember, to prevent constipation, make sure your child eats lots of fruits and vegetables, drinks lots of water, and gets regular exercise every day.
Do any of these statements describe your child?
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His pain is in the upper part of his belly.
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He describes the pain as burning.
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He complains of a bad taste in his mouth.
Yes, these statements describe my child.
No, those statements don't describe my child.
Based on your answers, it's unlikely that your child's pain is caused by acid reflux, strep throat, cold or flu, or food allergy.
Think about the amount of stress in your child's home and school life.
Could his abdominal pain be caused by anxiety?
Yes, my child may be reacting to stressful events in his life.
No, I don't think that my child is suffering from stress or anxiety.
Almost finished.
Migraine can cause abdominal pain, usually around the same time as a headache.
Does your child have headaches? Does the belly pain come and go with headaches?
Yes, this applies to my child.
No, this does not apply to my child.
You have reached the end of this guide that has covered the more common reasons for abdominal pain in children. Based on your responses, no particular cause is suggested. It is still likely that your child's symptoms are related to one of the conditions we touched on, and your child's symptoms just didn't seem to match up. For example, your child may have an early intestinal infection without the usual diarrhea yet. Or, he may have one of the uncommon causes of abdominal pain.
Call your doctor to go over the symptoms again and decide whether and when a visit to the office makes sense.
If you live in an older home that may contain lead, or your child could have had some other exposure to lead, make sure you tell your doctor, as lead poisoning can cause abdominal pain.
Call your doctor. Your child may be suffering from migraine.
Your child's abdominal pain -- and other symptoms -- may be caused by anxiety. Call your doctor to discuss the best way to help your child.
Constipation can cause abdominal pain. Call your doctor to discuss your child's symptoms.
To learn more about constipation, visit our Health Decision Guide called Constipation in Children.
When a child gets a cold or the flu, he may have some abdominal pain, too. Call your pediatrician if your child's symptoms last longer than one to two days, or if the symptoms get worse.
Call your pediatrician. Your child's symptoms may be caused by strep throat.
Your child's belly pain and diarrhea may be a sign of gastroenteritis, an intestinal infection. Call your pediatrician if your child's symptoms last longer than one to two days, or if the symptoms get worse.
Children with diarrhea can get dehydrated. Make sure your child drinks plenty of fluids, and watch for the signs of dehydration, such as decreased urine, sleepiness, lack of tears, dry mouth, excessive crankiness. Call your pediatrician if your child is having symptoms of dehydration.
Please visit our Guide called Diarrhea in Children.
Call your pediatrician. Abdominal pain with cough and fever could be caused by pneumonia, an infection in the lungs.
Call your pediatrician. Your child's abdominal pain may be caused by a urinary tract infection (UTI).
Call for emergency medical care immediately. Your child may have a serious problem with his abdomen.
Seek emergency medical care immediately. Your child may have abdominal pain and vomiting because of a serious problem with his intestines.
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