Lump in the abdomen

Injury	Disease	Nutrition	Poison

Symptoms	Surgery	Test	Special Topic

Infant abdominal hernia (gastroschisis)

Overview

Treatment

Lump in the abdomen

Alternative Names:

Abdominal hernia; Hernia - abdominal; Abdominal wall defects
Home Care:

Umbilical hernias usually heal on their own without treatment, most often by the time the child is 4 years old.

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Seek appropriate care for chronic cough or for constipation if you have a hernia. Straining associated with these conditions causes the intestines to protrude further into the hernia.

Call your health care provider if:

A hernia becomes progressively larger, discolored, or painful.
An umbilical hernia fails to heal by the time the child is 5 years old.
A person with a hernia develops fever, vomiting, abnormal appearance of the hernia, or if the hernia is (or appears to be) painful or tender. A strangulated hernia, one in which the blood supply is lost to the organs that protrude through the hernia, is a (very rare) medical emergency!

What to expect at your health care provider's office:

The medical history will be obtained and a physical examination performed.

Medical history questions documenting your symptom in detail may include:

Time pattern
- When was the hernia first noticed?
- Is it always there or does the bulge come and go?
Location
- Where is the bulge of the hernia located?
Quality or size
- How big is the hernia? Hint: try to measure the diameter (distance across) or compare to another object (the size of a baseball, for example).
Aggravating factors
- Have you noticed anything that makes the hernia bulge more?
Relieving factors
- Have you noticed anything that makes the hernia bulge less?
Other
- What other symptoms are also present?
- Is there any pain or discomfort, discoloration of the skin, or other symptom associated with the hernia?
- Are accompanying symptoms always there or only sometimes?