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Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Hirschsprung Disease - NIDDK
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</li> <li class="ln-collapsed"> <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/clinical-trials">Clinical Trials</a> </li> </ul> </nav> <article class="dk-content"> <h1 itemprop="name">Eating, Diet, & Nutrition for Hirschsprung Disease</h1> <div class="health-detail-content"> <h2>How does Hirschsprung disease affect a child’s eating and nutrition?</h2> <p>Before Hirschsprung disease is <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/diagnosis">diagnosed</a> and <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/treatment">treated</a>, a child may develop</p> <ul> <li>problems feeding</li> <li>failure to thrive, meaning an infant or a child weighs less or is gaining less weight than expected for his or her age</li> <li>malnutrition, a condition in which a child doesn’t get enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to be healthy</li> </ul> <h2>What should my child eat and drink after Hirschsprung disease has been treated?</h2> <p>Talk with your child’s doctor about what your child should eat and drink after pull-through surgery to treat Hirschsprung disease. If your child had ostomy surgery, your child’s doctor and ostomy nurse can provide advice about <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/ostomy-surgery-bowel/after">diet after ostomy surgery</a>.</p> <p>Children usually don’t need to follow a special diet after Hirschsprung disease has been treated. If a child develops problems <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/treatment#surgery">after surgery</a>, such as <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/bowel-control-problems-fecal-incontinence">bowel control problems</a> or <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/constipation-children">constipation</a>, doctors may recommend diet changes, such as eating more foods that contain <a href="/Dictionary/F/fiber" class="dictionary-term">fiber</a>.</p> <p>Some <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/definition-facts#types">types of Hirschsprung disease</a> affect all of a child’s large intestine and part of the small intestine. After surgery to remove the affected parts of the intestines, a child may have problems getting enough nutrients and may need <a href="https://medlineplus.gov/nutritionalsupport.html">nutritional support</a> or other treatments.</p> <span class="figure full center"><img height="667" alt="An adult male feeds food to an infant child with a spoon." width="1000" src="/-/media/Images/Health-Information/Digestive-Diseases/man-feeding-infant_1000x667.jpg" /><span class="figcaption"><span class="caption">Consult your doctor about what your child should eat and drink after surgery to treat Hirschsprung's disease.</span></span></span> </div> <div class="dk-review-date">Last Reviewed September 2021</div> <div id="90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" class="dk-share"> <span>Share<span class="sr-only"> this page</span></span> <div class="dk-share-buttons" data-lang="en"> <button type="button" class="shr-print" title="Print this page" onclick="window.print();return false;">Print</button> <a class="shr-facebook no-disclaimer" title="Share this page on Facebook" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Facebook</a> <a class="shr-x no-disclaimer" title="Post this page on X" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">X</a> <a class="shr-email" title="Email this page" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_self" rel="nofollow noopener">Email</a> <button type="button" class="shr-more" title="More sharing options" aria-expanded="false">More Options</button> <a class="shr-whatsapp no-disclaimer" title="Share this page via WhatsApp" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_self" rel="nofollow noopener">WhatsApp</a> <a class="shr-linkedin no-disclaimer" title="Share this page on LinkedIn" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">LinkedIn</a> <a class="shr-reddit no-disclaimer" title="Share this page on Reddit" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Reddit</a> <a class="shr-pinterest no-disclaimer" title="Share this page on Pinterest" href="#share-90c1928b689f4b36815b92c3e32a8729" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Pinterest</a> <button type="button" class="shr-copy" title="Copy a link for sharing to the clipboard">Copy Link</button> </div> <script src="/_ux/niddk/9.35.0/scripts/modules/social-share.js" type="module"></script> </div> <div class="previous-next " > <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/treatment"> <div> <em>Previous:</em> Treatment </div> </a> <a href="/health-information/digestive-diseases/hirschsprung-disease/clinical-trials"> <div> <em>Next:</em> Clinical Trials </div> </a> </div> <div class="disclaimer"> <p> This content is provided as a service of the <a href="https://www.niddk.nih.gov/">National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases</a> (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. 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