Strangulated Hernia

• By misunderstoodmama
• Reply 682481
• January 1, 2010 at 9:33 pm
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Im guessing its an ingroinal hernia. My son had one repaired at 1month adjusted. He was always constipated and the docs didnt want him to strain so there wouldnt be any extra pressure, but I dont think its an effect of the hernia itself. Our docs always advised me to check his testicles for size, color changes or hardness.
Good Luck

• By Mama_Cyndi
• Reply 682634
• January 2, 2010 at 12:25 am
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Casey had double inguinal hernias. They were repaired when he weighed 10 pounds, when the surgeon felt he'd be big enough to handle anesthesia. Anyway, the things we were told to look for were darkness in the hernia area, if the hernia was hard, if we could not gently ease it back through the muscle. We were also told to call immediately if he could not be soothed and he had not had a BM in his usual pattern. It's not the testicles that you're checking, but the general area since the intestines poked through the weak muscles after the testes dropped. All that said, if your instinct is telling you to get him checked out, listen to it and go get him checked. You'll feel better and hopefully he will to.

• By NateAndTimsMom
• Reply 682715
• January 2, 2010 at 5:14 am
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If you think there is a strangulated hernia you need to get to the ER IMMEDIATELY! Every minute counts in saving the part of the intestine that is strangulated. A person can even die from a strangulated hernia.

One of my boys had two inguinal hernia repairs, one on each side. My other son had three inguinal hernia repairs, all on one side. My son who had the three repairs had the first two repairs in emergency situations due to the hernias being incarcerated.

There is a difference between an incarcerated hernia and a strangulated hernia. An incarcerated hernia is one that cannot be reduced (pushed back in) and needs to be fixed ASAP (usually within six hours). This is when you will probably see no bowel movements, possibly intense pain, a hard bulge, etc. With my son he was not eating, had no bowel movements, could not be consoled, his scrotum was enlarged, and by the time we got to the children's hospital two hours away he was throwing up bile. An x-ray showed he was not even passing gas. Therefore the repair was done in the middle of the night instead of waiting until morning. A strangulated hernia also cannot be reduced, but it also cuts off the blood flow to the intestines that are pushed through. Therefore the intestines could die if the hernia is not repaired immediately. I don't recall for sure, but I believe you can tell the difference between a strangulated and incarcerated hernia in that the strangulated hernia will be purple or dark colored. I don't know for sure. I would go to the ER immediately for an incarcerated hernia so the difference didn't matter much to me. However, I knew to tell the people as soon as I got to the ER what was going on because a possible strangulated hernia needs to be looked at immediately.

If you don't notice a hard bulge anywhere, I would not necessarily suspect a hernia. Perhaps your son is just constipated. I would call the dr's office and ask about it. One option would be an enema, but I would talk to a dr or nurse and give some pear juice before that.

• By NateAndTimsMom
• Reply 682716
• January 2, 2010 at 5:14 am
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Here's a link to info on pediatric hernias:

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/932680-overview

• By 29weekevan
• Reply 682775
• January 2, 2010 at 8:35 am
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My son had a strangulated inguinal hernia when he was about 2 mos old (still in the NICU). I was at work and saving my PTOs for when he was to get out of the hospital. He had a float pool nurse. He was very fussy that day and the nurse thought he was just a fussy baby. A nurse practitioner checked in on him and knew something was wrong but couldn't figure out what. She stripped him down and started checking him head to toe. When she got to his groin he screamed when she touched him. There was a visible bulge in the groin and his testicles looked weird. They considered it a medical emergency. The surgeon came immediately and sedated Evan and was able to push the intestines back into his abdomen. He had surgery a week later to repair the hernia.
I hope you get it figured out. I would call your Dr.