Complex saccharides begin to break down even when food enters the mouth due to the action of amylase, an enzyme that is produced by the digestive tract. Diseases of the digestive system can increase the starch in the child's coprogram. Is it worth attaching importance to changes in the analysis of a newborn's feces, and what else the presence of indigestible fiber in the coprogram can mean, this article will tell.
Coprogram - microscopic examination of feces
The starch in the coprogram can be of two types:
- Extracellular - these are elements of membranes from cells that have been destroyed and are not digested. This type of starch should normally be broken down by amylase. If it is elevated, the reason is that food is rapidly passing through the intestines, so the enzyme does not have time to start its work.
- Intracellular starch in the feces of infants is inside the cell membrane. Usually, in the intestine, it is completely broken down and absorbed, therefore it is not found in the feces. If it rises, it means that gastric juice is produced in excess, or the fermentation processes of the digestive tract have intensified. That is why cells are more difficult to break down, releasing starch during digestion.
Starch-filled indigestible fiber in analysis
If the baby is not more than a year old
What does starch in feces mean in a child:
- The presence of diseases in the digestive tract;
- The digestive system matures gradually during the first years of life. Because of this, starch may be present in small amounts.
Important! A small amount of indigestible fiber in the analysis of an infant is permissible and does not require treatment, it is enough for a mother to exclude starchy foods from the diet if the baby is breastfed. Starch in a newborn, who feeds on an artificial mixture, appears, as a rule, with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. If diagnostics are carried out in time, then within a month the situation evens out.
Amilorrhea, which develops against the background of a decrease in the absorption of starch in children under one year old, usually does not require any intervention. This is a natural physiological process, it completely takes place in a healthy child after three years.
Rate and deviations
Normally, in children under 2-3 years old, 2-3 units of polysaccharides may be present in the feces, which are detected through a microscope.
If starchy grains are found in a baby, then this is interpreted in different ways. If the patient is a baby up to 1-3 years old, then if there is a small amount of indigestible fiber, this is normal. In children, digestive structures are only being formed, gastrointestinal tract enzymes are insufficiently developed.
Note! If the baby is constantly worried, he has frequent abdominal pains, then this may indicate a disruption in the digestive tract. Analyzes are prescribed, one of which is a coprogram. After the chair, the material is collected in sterile jars, and not in improvised means or matchboxes.
In children over 3 years old, starch can increase for the same reasons as in an adult.
Why starch rises in the analysis
Starch in feces in infants increases for the reasons:
- Non-pathological. Up to three years is the norm if a small amount of indigestible fiber is present in the analysis.
Additional Information. In adults and older children, transient amilorrhea may occur. Indigestible fiber is found in the case of diarrhea that is not associated with chronic gastrointestinal diseases, or the child consumes too much plant foods.
- Pathological. In this case, the excretory function of the pancreas is impaired (amylase is produced in small quantities), or enteritis (inflammation of the small intestine), gastritis with increased acidity of gastric juice, or diseases accompanied by diarrhea are found.
Enteritis - inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract
You can also highlight the following reasons:
- Mom eats a lot of foods containing complex carbohydrates and starch. Either the baby is offered a mixture, ready-made meals, in which there is starch in the composition;
- The ecological situation is unfavorable;
- Mom's or child's nutrition is unbalanced, unhealthy;
- The mother or baby is prescribed drug therapy, and the medicines are made on the basis of starch.
Pediatricians recommend changing the diet. Initially, replace complementary foods from banana, potato or pear puree with apples, peaches.
Diagnosis of amilorrhea
To identify amilorrhea, you need to do a coprogram. This analysis also helps to identify other problems associated with disruption of the digestive tract.
What a coprogram looks like
If deviations are found in the coprogram, additional studies may be needed:
- General clinical blood and urine tests. Due to them, the general state of health is assessed, and various disorders in the activity of internal organs are revealed.
- Blood biochemistry. Particular attention is paid to the work of the liver and pancreas: ALT, AST, bilirubin, total protein, and blood glucose are evaluated.
- Ultrasound of the abdominal organs. The condition of the stomach, intestinal loops, liver, pancreas and gallbladder is assessed.
- X-ray of the digestive tract. The permeability of the intestine and the state of its evacuation function are assessed.
- Endoscopic examination. It is carried out if you suspect a pathology of the stomach. During the procedure, you can visually assess the state of the organ, take material for further analysis, and determine the acidity of the gastric juice.
What parents need to do
If the baby is breastfed, then the mother will need to follow a diet that will not contain starchy foods.
What can and cannot be eaten by a nursing mother when an increased starch is detected in the coprogram
| Can | It is impossible |
|---|---|
| 1. Boiled meat, fish; 2. Vegetable broths; 3. Hercules, millet, buckwheat; 4. Fermented milk products; 5. Seasonal berries, non-starchy vegetables and fruits that do not form gas. | 1. Fried meat or fish; 2. Very fatty meat broths; 3. Rice groats; 4. Cow's whole milk; 5. Potatoes, legumes, cabbage; 6. Grapes and apricots. |
Where starch is in foods
Children who are bottle-fed can be prescribed drug treatment:
- Enzymes that facilitate food digestion and replace pancreatic amylase;
- Drugs that will help reduce the acidity of gastric juice - antacids;
- Drugs that slow down intestinal motility;
- Sorbents or antidiarrheal drugs.
Also, after the exacerbation subsides, additional diagnostics and application will be required:
- Vitamins to enhance immunity;
- Probiotics to restore normal intestinal flora.
If deviations are found in the results of the coprogram, then you cannot self-medicate. First of all, it is worth going to a gastroenterologist who will conduct additional research and prescribe an adjustment to the diet of the mother or baby. If necessary, he will also add to the therapy the use of medications.
