My Tummy Hurts: A Complete Guide to Understanding and Treating Your Child's Stomachaches

A road map for understanding and managing children's stomach
problems -- from symptoms to treatment, and everything in between

From baby's colic to an older child's complaint of "my tummy hurts," abdominal distress is painful for kids and worrisome to parents, ranking second only to upper respiratory tract infections as the most common reason for non-routine visits to the pediatrician. In many cases, the discomfort is easily remedied and even prevented -- but some kinds of pain indicate a more serious affliction. How can parents make the distinction?

Drawing from more than two decades of experience as a pediatric gastroenterologist, Dr. Joseph Levy offers a prescriptive guide to children's digestive complaints. My Tummy Hurts equips parents with the information they need to help alleviate their children's pain and prevent many disorders from occurring. They'll discover how to ask the right questions, identify problems, recognize the symptoms requiring urgent medical attention, and much more, including:

• How the digestive system works and why it sometimes malfunctions
  
• The major causes of stomachaches
  
• Identifying disease triggers, including those related to stress and diet
  
• What to do if your child is lactose- or wheat-intolerant
  

My Tummy Hurts, organized for easy reference, is an indispensable handbook for parents and caregivers.

Joseph Levy, M.D., has been listed in Top Doctors in America and Best Doctors in New York since 1996. Dr. Levy is a professor of clinical pediatrics at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. He is also a board-certified pediatric gastroenterologist and director of the Children's Digestive Health Center at the Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian Hospital, where he practices.