Symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease

List of symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease:

The list of signs and symptoms mentioned in various sources for Hirschsprung's disease includes the 26 symptoms listed below:

• Constipation
• Stool impaction
• Anemia
• Symptoms in children include:
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhea
  • Anemia
  • Abdominal bloating
  • Vomiting
  • Delayed growth
  • Failure to thrive
• Symptoms in newborns include:
  • Late first bowel movement
  • Vomiting bile
  • Abdominal swelling
  • Intestinal infections
• Constipation from birth
• Abdominal pain
• Vomiting
• Small, hard stool pellets
• Distended abdomen
• Visible peristaltic action
• Visible outlines of bowel loops
• Narrowed portion of sigmoid colon
• Dilated portion of colon
• Narrowed rectum

Note that Hirschsprung's disease symptoms usually refers to various symptoms known to a patient, but the phrase Hirschsprung's disease signs may refer to those signs only noticable by a doctor.

More ways to research these symptoms: To research other symptoms use the symptom center, or to research causes of more than one symptom in combination, try our multi-symptom search.

Research More About Hirschsprung's disease

Do I have Hirschsprung's disease?

• Hirschsprung's disease: Introduction
• Hirschsprung's disease: Diagnostic Testing to confirm diagnosis
• Home Diagnostic Testing
• Treatments for Hirschsprung's disease
• More about Hirschsprung's disease

Home Diagnostic Testing

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More about symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease:

More information about symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease and related conditions:

• Other diseases with similar symptoms and common misdiagnoses
• Tests to determine if these are the symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease
• Symptoms that may be caused by complications of Hirschsprung's disease
• Underlying causes of Hirschsprung's disease
• Associated conditions for Hirschsprung's disease
• Risk factors for Hirschsprung's disease

Other Possible Causes of these Symptoms

Click on any of the symptoms below to see a full list of other causes including diseases, medical conditions, toxins, drug interactions, or drug side effect causes of that symptom.

• Abdominal bloating - see all causes of Abdominal swelling
• Abdominal pain - see all causes of Abdominal pain
• Abdominal swelling - see all causes of Abdominal swelling
• Anemia - see all causes of Anemia
• Anemia - see all causes of Anemia
• Constipation - see all causes of Constipation
• Constipation - see all causes of Constipation
• Constipation from birth - see all causes of Constipation
• Delayed growth - see all causes of Poor growth
• Diarrhea - see all causes of Diarrhea
• Distended abdomen - see all causes of Abdominal distention
• Failure to thrive - see all causes of Failure to thrive
• Intestinal infections - see all causes of Digestive symptoms
• Late first bowel movement - see all causes of Bowel infrequency
• Stool impaction - see all causes of Constipation
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Vomiting - see all causes of Vomiting
• Vomiting bile - see all causes of Vomiting

Medical Books Online about Hirschsprung's disease

Medical Books Excerpts Excerpts of published medical book chapters related to Hirschsprung's disease are available from published medical books for more detailed information about Hirschsprung's disease.

Copyright notice for book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

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Symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease.

Hirschsprung's disease: Signs and symptoms
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Clinical effects usually appear shortly after birth, but mild symptoms may not be recognized until later in childhood or during adolescence (usually) or adulthood (rarely). The neonate with Hirschsprung’s disease commonly fails to pass meconium within 24 to 48 hours, shows signs of obstruction (bile-stained or fecal vomiting and abdominal distention), irritability, feeding difficulties (poor sucking and refusal to take feedings), failure to thrive, dehydration (pallor, loss of skin turgor, dry mucous membranes, and sunken eyes), and overflow diarrhea. The infant may also exhibit abdominal distention that causes rapid breathing and grunting. Rectal examination, which may temporarily relieve GI symptoms, reveals a rectum empty of stool and, when the examining finger is withdrawn, an explosive gush of malodorous gas and liquid stool. In infants, the main cause of death is enterocolitis, caused by fecal stagnation that leads to bacterial overgrowth, production of bacterial toxins, intestinal irritation, profuse diarrhea, hypovolemic shock, and perforation.

The older child has intractable constipation (usually requiring laxatives and enemas), abdominal distention, and easily palpated fecal masses. In severe cases, failure to grow is characterized by wasted extremities and loss of subcutaneous tissue, with a large protuberant abdomen.

Adult megacolon, although rare, usually affects men. Patients have abdominal distention, rectal bleeding (rare), and a history of chronic intermittent constipation. They’re generally in poor physical condition.

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Article Excerpts About Symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease:

What I need to know about Hirschsprung's disease: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Symptoms of HD usually show up in very young children. But sometimes they don't appear until the person is a teenager or an adult. The symptoms are a little different for different ages.

Symptoms in newborns

Newborns with HD don't have their first bowel movement when they should. These babies may also throw up a green liquid called bile after eating and their abdomens may swell. Discomfort from gas or constipation might make them fussy. Sometimes, babies with HD develop infections in their intestines.

Symptoms in young children

Most children with HD have always had severe problems with constipation. Some also have more diarrhea than usual. Children with HD might also have anemia , a shortage of red blood cells, because blood is lost in the stool. Also, many babies with HD grow and develop more slowly than they should.

Symptoms in teenagers and adults

Like younger children, teenagers and adults with HD usually have had severe constipation all their lives. They might also have anemia. (Source: excerpt from What I need to know about Hirschsprung's disease: NIDDK)

What I need to know about Hirschsprung's disease: NIDDK (Excerpt)

Symptoms of HD include

• delayed first bowel movement in newborns
  
  
• swollen abdomen and vomiting
  
  
• constipation since birth
  
  
• slow growth and development
  
  
• anemia
  
  

Hirschsprung's disease as a Cause of Symptoms or Medical Conditions

When considering symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease, it is also important to consider Hirschsprung's disease as a possible cause of other medical conditions. The Disease Database lists the following medical conditions that Hirschsprung's disease may cause:

• Abdominal mass
• Constipation
• Diarrhoea
• Hypopigmentation
• Meconium ileus
• Megacolon

Medical articles and books on symptoms:

These general reference articles may be of interest in relation to medical signs and symptoms of disease in general:

• Diagnostic Testing for a Diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease
• More about Hirschsprung's disease
• Online Diagnosis
• Self Diagnosis Pitfalls
• Pitfalls of Online Diagnosis
• Symptoms of the Silent Killer Diseases
• Lesser known silent killer diseases
• Books on signs and symptoms

Full list of premium articles on symptoms and diagnosis

About signs and symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease:

The symptom information on this page attempts to provide a list of some possible signs and symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease. This signs and symptoms information for Hirschsprung's disease has been gathered from various sources, may not be fully accurate, and may not be the full list of Hirschsprung's disease signs or Hirschsprung's disease symptoms. Furthermore, signs and symptoms of Hirschsprung's disease may vary on an individual basis for each patient. Only your doctor can provide adequate diagnosis of any signs or symptoms and whether they are indeed Hirschsprung's disease symptoms.