Why Is My Son (who Has Celiac) Always Sick With Colds?

[mcceliac]

My 1 year old son has Celiac and is always getting colds. He has had at least 5 this year already. I feel like I can not take him any where that he may/may not get a cold from other kids. Is this normal with Celiac? Do I need to find a specialist? I live on the island of Maui and I am so limited to specialist. Please let me know what you think or if you have experienced the same issue. Much Aloha.

[Ridgewalker]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

How long has he been gluten-free? I assume, since he's only 1 year old now, that he must have been pretty little when he was diagnosed! That seems to suggest he had a pretty severe case, since it's often difficult to diagnose young children (there's a high rate of false negatives in little ones.)

My reason for bringing that up is-- Some people with undiagnosed Celiac get sick constantly. My boys were like that. They'd catch every cold, strep throat throat, pink eye, etc going around. Every time they got the smallest bit of allergies/hayfever, it would turn into sinus infections or ear infections. My youngest has had pneumonia twice, and bronchitis several times.

I was literally taking one or the other (and sometimes both) to the doctor almost every week! It was horrible! But it would always get a little better in the summer... So May of last year, I put my oldest, Lucas on the gluten-free diet. It seemed to be good timing. He got better over last summer, and has only gotten sick twice since then. Twice, instead of a dozen times.

I didn't put my youngest on the gluten-free diet until the fall. By then, he was already getting constantly sick again, and we had a rough fall/winter/early spring. Once it warmed up, he stopped getting sick again. I have high hopes that he won't be getting sick so much anymore now, just like his brother. I'm hoping, now that he's been gluten-free for so many months, his immune system is stronger.

There are other parents here who've gone through similar issues. You're definitely not alone!

As for seeing a specialist- what does your pediatrician/family doctor think? Have you discussed the option with him/her? There is always the possibility that your son has a specific allergy that is making him more vulnerable to colds and viruses. Dairy products give some people terrible trouble-- dairy is a notorious mucous producer. Others have problems with mold. So you may want to see an allergist and rule some of these things out.

Hope this helps!

[purple]

I don't have the same problem of Celiac but I used to to day care for years. Some things I learned:

Wash hands often and don't touch ears or eyes or face

Don't drink milk when you have a cold

Boost the immune system

Could be related to vaccinations

Possible over use of antibiotics and may not help colds anyway

Toxic overload-mercury from the mother

Limit sugar and corn syrup

Over the counter medicines (OTC's) only help the symptoms not the cause and are dangerous

Poor nutrition

Lots of water

Get some sun for the Vit D

Sugar slows the immune system

Moving around loosens the mucus

Wash after using tissues

Cold viruses can stay on surfaces for several hours

Wash sheets and pillow cases

Get a new toothbrush if needed

Wash whatever goes in the mouth, toys, teething ring, blankets, carseat etc.

The caregiver can pass the germs back and forth to the child

A low grade fever is fine, no need for NSAID's

Raw food will help boost the immune system, cooked food can destroy enzymes, try not to use the microwave

Hopefully something here will help but I hope someone in your situation will respond soon.

[gfp]

I used to think I always had cold but it turned out to be allergies!

Its worth considering (headaches, runny/blocked nose, sneezing) are pretty much the same symptoms

[neesee]

It's pretty common for all young children to catch a lot of colds. Celiac and non-celiac alike. Open Original Shared Link

[elonwy]

Aloha! Welcome to the forums. I live in California now, but I grew up on the Big Island. My mom who has celiac still lives in Volcano. HI is not the friendliest place for celiacs, I hope you are having an ok time finding stuff.

I wasn't diagnosed until my twenties, but it obvious that I was sick long before that, and I was always catching colds. Now that I've been gluten free for a few years, I find I get sick much less than I used to. My personal speculation has always been that when I have gluten in my system that my immune system is busy dealing with that, and forgets to take care of the other stuff. (this is not science, just my opinion). That might be whats going on, or it might just be that he's a kid, and he gets sick a lot

Best of luck to you.

[gfp]

  elonwy said:

Aloha! Welcome to the forums. I live in California now, but I grew up on the Big Island. My mom who has celiac still lives in Volcano. HI is not the friendliest place for celiacs, I hope you are having an ok time finding stuff.

I wasn't diagnosed until my twenties, but it obvious that I was sick long before that, and I was always catching colds. Now that I've been gluten free for a few years, I find I get sick much less than I used to. My personal speculation has always been that when I have gluten in my system that my immune system is busy dealing with that, and forgets to take care of the other stuff. (this is not science, just my opinion). That might be whats going on, or it might just be that he's a kid, and he gets sick a lot

Best of luck to you.

This is almost exactly how I feel ... emphasis on feel.... Although I guess it's more like 'overloaded' than forgets???

However I did still find that most of the cold were not colds ... just a tiny amount of gluten seems to mess my whole immune system and I become much more allergic to pollen, dust etc. so in a way I feel its becoming hyperactive as well???

All this is as you say non-scientific and more about feeling....

[JennyC]

My son is four years old and he was diagnosed a year ago. Prior to diagnosis he always seemed to have a cold. He still continues to catch the interesting stuff: Rosella, fifths disease, croup, scarlet fever, and so on. Your son is young and his immune system is still developing. Unlike our immune system, his does not have much "memory" yet so he gets sick much more frequently when exposed to pathogens. I would continue to take him places, this process is actually good for his immune system.