My child has a hernia. What needs to be done about it and who do I need to see?

A pediatric hernia is one thing that shouldn’t be ignored as a parent. As we all know, things will occur much faster in children than in adults and even a slight delay in treating a hernia in children that needs treatment will cause harm and damage your child’s growth. However, not all types of hernia require treatment.

As such, in infants, an inguinal hernia is the most common surgical issue, which results from a small sac coming through the inguinal ring (normally open during the fetal growth and will close around the time of childbirth). For some unknown reasons, this doesn’t close in some children, thereby making a passage for the abdominal organs to protrude through the inguinal ring into the child’s groin.

Remember, these inguinal hernias will never go away without any treatment. Moreover, if the sac is left unclosed, there are possibilities for strangulation to occur. If your child gets a strangulated hernia, it’s a case of emergency. You can identify a strangulated hernia by noticing a hard, reddened, painful lump along with other symptoms like vomiting, unwillingness to eat, and inability to pass stools.

If you notice these, you must take your child immediately to the hospital or to the emergency room. If your child’s hernia couldn’t be pushed back into the abdomen, he/she may need immediate surgery.