When Should I Test My Children?

[ligeia]

I have been diagnosed with Celiacs and I have a two year old daughter and a five month old son. My doctor told me it's best to wait until they're three so that their immune system is better developed before testing them for the disease and just keep feeding the normal diet. My daughter hasn't shown signs of the disease and has been eating what would normally be considered a "healthy" diet with whole grains. My son is still just nursing, do I have to wait until he's started eating gluten to test him for it? Is the DNA test worth doing over the stool so that I can stop exposing my children to gluten? I am not really sure what to do and would really appreciate some advice. I haven't found a pediatrician who is very helpful on this topic.

[lizard00]

You ped is on target with their immune system and the testing. Celiac screening is pretty inconclusive in small children, as he said. (and can continue to be, even past the age of 3)

I went back and forth with the decision, too. I have a 3 yr old, and I had him tested this past Sept. I KNOW that he has at least one copy of the "main" celiac genes (DQ2), so I thought it would be better to be safe. He didn't have any symptoms at all, but my doctor agreed that it was better safe than sorry. I don't want him to have other health problems because we didn't test for the first obvious one.

He came back completely negative, and I was satisfied with that since he wasn't displaying any symptoms. When we go for his four year checkup, we'll talk about how often he should be tested. For now, he eats gluten. But I keep a close eye out for any issues. It works for us, but it's your family's decision to make.

[lovegrov]

The ped is right.

richard

[ligeia]

Thank you for the input. So if I test around the 3, 3.5 year mark, is that a reasonable amount of time for their immune systems to develop? Obviously, it probably depends on the person and their diet but generally speaking...