Could this be an allergy?

[lovesea]

My 2 and a half year old dd keeps complaining that her stomach hurts yet she seems to have no loss of apetite and she's not vomitting or anything like that. I have not taken her to the docs because she doesn't seem to be in much pain - never crying and she seems to forget about it fairly quickly. It has occured to me that she's doing it just to get a cuddle or a bit of attention. However the complaints are so frequent. She's a pretty easy going child with a healthy apetite. I try to give them a healthy diet, we have no junk food or ready made food but generally eat everything else. Any comments or advice gratefully received

[Comtessa]

My DD is the same age.  I've noticed that she'll complain about her stomach hurting when she hasn't pooped in a while.  I think that the "my belly hurts" is just her way of saying, "I'm feeling like I have to poop soon."  She's identifying it as pain, and perhaps it is, especially if she's got any gas trapped in there, KWIM?  So it might just be the 2.5 yo language barrier at work -- she can't distinguish between "stomach pain" and "have to poop."  

On the other hand, if your DD has a sensitivity to any kind of food -- even a mild one -- it could be manifesting itself as general queasiness, gas, constipation, or sour stomach, all of which could be interpreted into toddlerspeak as "my belly hurts."  I spent the first 20 years of my life in mild stomach pain because I couldn't handle dairy proteins well.  Duh.  It wasn't until I was living on my own and too broke to buy dairy that I realized that I felt better without it.  I just thought everyone's stomach hurt all the time like mine!  

It couldn't hurt to take a few of the more common offenders out of her diet for a couple of weeks to see what happens, and if it seems to get better, gradually add them back in, and see where/when the problem recurs.  Once you've identified the problem food (if there is one), it is easy enough to cut back or eliminate it from her diet.  If it's just a sensitivity, like mine, she'll still be able to have small amounts of the food without it causing a problem -- you just have to be cautious with it. 

[LionessMom]

my kids get stomach aches from fruit and sugar. they have an intolerance.

[amydidit]

My youngest does the same thing at times. She's been tested though and isn't allergic to anything. My guess would be more likely an intolerance. But if it's happened frequently then I'd suggest taking her to see a doctor and finding out for sure.

[franklin907]

If you decide to have her tested, I'd ask for testing for intolerances & allergies, for my son it's his inolerances that cause his stomach to hurt & those don't show up on regular allergy testing.

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by franklin907 

If you decide to have her tested, I'd ask for testing for intolerances & allergies, for my son it's his inolerances that cause his stomach to hurt & those don't show up on regular allergy testing.

98% of allergists won't test for intolerances. 

[kaleywirthlin]

Sounds like a standard gluten or casein allergy... I would check out the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome or Restoring your Digestive Health.  Both really good books about the importance of strong probiotics and gut health.  It also talks about how to go about healing the gut from allergies etc. Hope she gets better soon.  Good Luck