| Home | 幼儿手工 | 简笔画 | 小游戏 | 树叶贴画 | 儿童画 | 幼儿舞蹈 | 幼儿园教案 | 幼儿园说课 | 儿教 | 育儿 | 婴儿 | 怀孕 | 海外 | 入园
Health 101: Celiac Disease       Elite  ★★★
Health 101: Celiac Disease
Author:163ED   UpdateTime:2010-10-2 12:26:56

Health 101: Celiac Disease

Most kids with celiac disease -- a serious digestive disorder -- have never been diagnosed. Although the condition was once considered rare in this country, improved diagnostic tests have shown that it actually affects about one in 130 people -- including toddlers. Unfortunately, both doctors and parents often overlook celiac disease because they don't realize how common it is, and the symptoms are easily mistaken for other problems. Here, we've got common questions about this often confusing condition.

What is celiac disease?
A. It's a genetic disease of the digestive system that's triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, as well as rye and barley. "Parents sometimes use the words allergy or intolerance to help other people understand celiac disease, but it's actually an autoimmune disease and not an allergy," says Nanci Pittman, MD, a pediatric gastroenterologist at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, in New York City. When a child with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, her immune system attacks the lining of her small intestine so that she's unable to absorb all the nutrients in food. As a result, she may stop growing, become malnourished, and develop a variety of serious consequences such as anemia, chronic diarrhea, and osteoporosis.

How young does celiac start?
A. Kids may develop symptoms a few weeks after they begin eating food that contains gluten but often don't show signs of the disease for years. No one knows why symptoms are often delayed. Some experts believe they may be triggered by a stressor, such as an infection.

Do all children have the same symptoms?
A. No -- and that's why doctors often miss the diagnosis, particularly in older kids. Toddlers and young children are more likely to show classic signs of celiac, such as chronic diarrhea, vomiting, failure to thrive, weight loss, gas, abdominal pain, and bloating. They're often clingy and irritable. "As children get older, the symptoms become more varied and difficult to diagnose," says Dr. Pittman. Those signs might include anemia, a skin rash, defects in tooth enamel, joint pain, delayed puberty, short stature, or less typical gastrointestinal problems, such as constipation rather than diarrhea.

How is celiac diagnosed?
A. If your child has symptoms or growth problems, your pediatrician or gastroenterologist can give him a blood test. Although false-negative results are common in babies and toddlers, a school-age child with a negative test probably doesn't have celiac. If the test is positive -- or your doctor thinks it may be a false negative -- your child will need a biopsy of his small intestine to see whether it's been damaged by gluten. A biopsy is an outpatient procedure performed in the hospital under general anesthesia; the doctor passes a small tube through a child's throat into his intestine.

Can parents pass celiac to their kids even if they don't have it?
A. Yes, you can still carry the genes for celiac. The odds of your child having it are roughly one in 10 if one of you has it; the odds increase if more than one relative has it. If any of your child's grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, or first cousins have celiac, she should have a blood test -- even if she has no symptoms.

What's the treatment for celiac?
A. There's no cure or medication for this lifelong condition, although researchers are studying drugs that may prevent gluten from entering the cells in the small intestine. For now, the treatment is to follow a strict gluten-free diet, which allows a child's small intestine to heal so it can work properly. Gastrointestinal symptoms often disappear within weeks, and kids who had trouble growing usually catch up. But your child can't go back to eating gluten. "It's important to cut out all traces of gluten because the immune system doesn't distinguish between a small amount and a lot of gluten," says Dr. Alessio Fasano, MD, medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research. It's in obvious sources like bread and pasta, but gluten can be hidden in everything from medications to food additives. Even Play-Doh (usually made with wheat flour) is off-limits. Fortunately, there's been a boom in gluten-free products, from chicken nuggets to brownies. Some restaurants also offer gluten-free menus.

Where can I get more help?
A. You can find local support groups by contacting the Celiac Disease Foundation (celiac.org) or by searching groups.yahoo.com or healia.com. For info about gluten-free restaurants, grocery stores, and hotels when you travel, visit glutenfreetravelsite.com or glutenfreepassport.com.

[1] [2] Next

  • Back PostNews:

  • Next PostNews:
  •  
        What's New
    Guilt-Free Discipline
    Just-Right Discipline
    Tips on Communicating with Your Tod
    3 Golden Rules for Great Behavior
    The 5-Second Discipline Fix
    Four Ways to Deal with Whining Chil
     
     

    | Home | Add | Contact