Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

How To Tell If Toddler Has Celiac


LJ-Mom

Recommended Posts

LJ-Mom Rookie

My 18 month old son has had diarrhea for about a month, with maybe one regular BM a week.

He's always had some loose stools which the pediatrician told us was probably normal up until now. Now she's bringing up celiac (which is terrifying me). Does it sound like celiac to you parents out there:

Things that support:

- Semi to watery stools -95% of time

- Dry skin on back of calves (very minimal and no where else)

- More tired lately, lays on ground to play

Things that seem not to support:

- No abdominal pain (that we can tell for an 18 month old)

- Very interested in eating (hard to get him not to eat)

- 90th percentile in both height and weight

- "Chuggs down" his milk or juice as soon as you give it to him (??? good or bad??)

We've been on a gluten free diet, for about 4 days now with only a slight change in BMs (first constipated, then loose again, now slightly more solid). How long should it take to see an effect? And must my kitchen be completely crumb free?

What tests should we ask for? My doctor is very into the "wait and see" approach but I need to know and start to change things. The worrying is killing me.

Sorry for the rambling, any advice is appreciated.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



ravenwoodglass Mentor

Your doctor may be reluctant to do blood tests because of the high rate of false negatives in children his age. I would try to get her to do a complete panel though. It won't hurt. The change that you have seen in the 4 days he has been on the diet could be significant. I would stick with it and it might be a good idea to limit his dairy intake until he has healed and is having normal BMs. Give him whole unprocessed foods as much as you can to try and keep CC or accidental glutening to a minimum. You do need to be cautious about crumbs and make sure he has his own condiments and nut butters etc.

It can be hard at first to ferret out hidden sources of gluten but your in a great place to learn.

I hope your little guy is feeling better soon.

shayesmom Rookie

My 18 month old son has had diarrhea for about a month, with maybe one regular BM a week.

He's always had some loose stools which the pediatrician told us was probably normal up until now. Now she's bringing up celiac (which is terrifying me). Does it sound like celiac to you parents out there:

Things that support:

- Semi to watery stools -95% of time

- Dry skin on back of calves (very minimal and no where else)

- More tired lately, lays on ground to play

Things that seem not to support:

- No abdominal pain (that we can tell for an 18 month old)

- Very interested in eating (hard to get him not to eat)

- 90th percentile in both height and weight

- "Chuggs down" his milk or juice as soon as you give it to him (??? good or bad??)

We've been on a gluten free diet, for about 4 days now with only a slight change in BMs (first constipated, then loose again, now slightly more solid). How long should it take to see an effect? And must my kitchen be completely crumb free?

What tests should we ask for? My doctor is very into the "wait and see" approach but I need to know and start to change things. The worrying is killing me.

Sorry for the rambling, any advice is appreciated.

The first child I met with an "official" (biopsy-proven) diagnosis of Celiac was in the 98th percentile for weight and height. So I wouldn't put too much stock in the growth chart right now.

Crankiness can be another symptom. With my daughter, she was good as gold in the morning, but come late afternoon/early evening, it seemed that it took little to set her off crying. This all changed once on a gluten-free diet.

Dry skin can be a sign of Celiac or a food allergy....probably because it can involve malabsorption issues.

I'd ask for a CAPRAST test to rule out allergies (even mild) to dairy and eggs. If you want a confirmation of Celiac, then you need to stop playing around with the gluten-free diet until the tests are complete. Being gluten-free will jeopardize your chances of getting an accurate test result. So if you're in doubt....get the full Celiac panel run prior to going on the diet. I don't say this to be negative or condescending. It's just that I am fully aware of pediatricians who put children on a gluten-free diet several months before then testing for celiac disease. It's an exercise in futility and extremely frustrating if you're the parent being led down this road. The pediatric gastroenterologist will only put your child back on a gluten diet (possibly for several more months) and it prolongs the diagnostic process significantly. And then there's always some random doctor who will suggest that two weeks on a gluten diet will be enough to initiate damage detectable by tests (NOT!).

Please, if you're the type of parent who NEEDS bonified documentation of Celiac, push for the testing now and stay on a regular diet. If you can handle the doubt medical professionals will throw at you in the future (as you won't have an official diagnosis) and you are confident in the results you physically observe....then you may want to stick with the diet and go with either gene testing or Enterolab.

Having said that, the test results (blood and even biopsy) tend to be highly inaccurate in children anyways. So I'd highly recommend going on the diet AFTER the tests. I personally feel that response to the diet is the best indicator of whether or not there is a problem. At least as far as symptomatic cases go. There also are people who are completely asymptomatic and therefore blood panels and biopsies are then a more accurate indicator.

The method of testing is a personal choice. Just be sure that you don't let any doctor mislead you if you are seeking definitive answers.

HTH

nmlove Contributor

Totally agree with Shayesmom concerning testing, staying on gluten diet. Both my boys (2 and 4) didn't express abdominal pain. One started eating more - more gluten foods that is. He was always eating. The other was slowly not eating as much but he's 2 so I really didn't think too much of it. My 4 year old is tall for his age. Even his GI doc mentioned that looking at him he wouldn't have thought celiac because of his persistent growing. :) But with that said, I had noticed him slowing down prior to diagnosis, especially with weight. It took almost a year to gain one pound. His younger brother was also off the charts until about 18 months. At 24 months he'd fallen down the charts and I'm sure if he hadn't been diagnosed, come his 3 year check-up he'd have fallen further as he's still in the same clothes from a year ago. But just a month on the gluten-free diet and he's already growing. Oh, by the way, the only reason my son's pediatrician brought up celiac was because I mentioned he kept pooping all the time. He was definitely lagging in energy too. Boy, is he bouncing around now! (gluten-free for 2 months)

lvanderb Newbie

I just wanted to share a bit of my family's experience.

My oldest daughter was a miserable baby (now I know why), wasn't colic, always reacted more if I ate more of something.

So, when my husband decided to go gluten-free, well try it any way, I got researching.

My husband actually went into withdrawal on the second week of gluten-free, his symptoms all came back in more than full force - heart skipping, gastro distress. We didn't know what to do - he was even thinking of eating gluten again! However, we toughed out that week and things calmed down.

As for my daughter, during my research, I had a serious eye-opener. Her symptoms were classic celiac, but mild, lots of sore tummies and digestive issues, headaches and poor sugar tolerance. She is much improved now, too bad it took 13 years!

So definitely keep up with the gluten free - I know it's tough, but 2 months is probably a minimum time to continue to wait for changes.

BTW, I saw lots of good advice in this discussion - as per getting tested etc.

LJ-Mom Rookie

I just wanted to share a bit of my family's experience.

My oldest daughter was a miserable baby (now I know why), wasn't colic, always reacted more if I ate more of something.

So, when my husband decided to go gluten-free, well try it any way, I got researching.

My husband actually went into withdrawal on the second week of gluten-free, his symptoms all came back in more than full force - heart skipping, gastro distress. We didn't know what to do - he was even thinking of eating gluten again! However, we toughed out that week and things calmed down.

As for my daughter, during my research, I had a serious eye-opener. Her symptoms were classic celiac, but mild, lots of sore tummies and digestive issues, headaches and poor sugar tolerance. She is much improved now, too bad it took 13 years!

So definitely keep up with the gluten free - I know it's tough, but 2 months is probably a minimum time to continue to wait for changes.

BTW, I saw lots of good advice in this discussion - as per getting tested etc.

LJ-Mom Rookie

Thanks for all the advice. We're going to stick to the diet for another week or so, if we don't get any normal looking poops - we'll go back to gluten for a week and get the allergy and celiac blood tests to start.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



Welda Johnson Newbie

When my youngest grandson started projectile vomiting his formula, then had 14 diarrhea diapers in one night (his female pediatrician said he just had a healthy system)it dawned on me that perhaps he had what I had--gluten sensitivity. I ordered the full spectrum test from Enterolab online, and within a short period of time it was confirmed that he was intolerant of all grains and all milk & dairy. The test utilizes a stool sample, returned through the mail, with results and even the ordering of the tests done via email. He was a newborn when this was taking place, but later, when he would get gluten or dairy he would react with a severe diaper rash, serious crankiness and crying, and apparent abdominal distress. He, too, was in the 90th percentile of growth. I remember reading that children with Celiac often have extraordinarily long, dark eyelashes, and that is also true of my grandson. I wish you the best in finding out what is going on. Welda

CMG Rookie

My 18 month old son has had diarrhea for about a month, with maybe one regular BM a week.

He's always had some loose stools which the pediatrician told us was probably normal up until now. Now she's bringing up celiac (which is terrifying me). Does it sound like celiac to you parents out there:

Things that support:

- Semi to watery stools -95% of time

- Dry skin on back of calves (very minimal and no where else)

- More tired lately, lays on ground to play

Things that seem not to support:

- No abdominal pain (that we can tell for an 18 month old)

- Very interested in eating (hard to get him not to eat)

- 90th percentile in both height and weight

- "Chuggs down" his milk or juice as soon as you give it to him (??? good or bad??)

We've been on a gluten free diet, for about 4 days now with only a slight change in BMs (first constipated, then loose again, now slightly more solid). How long should it take to see an effect? And must my kitchen be completely crumb free?

What tests should we ask for? My doctor is very into the "wait and see" approach but I need to know and start to change things. The worrying is killing me.

Sorry for the rambling, any advice is appreciated.

CMG Rookie

I second the suggestion to eliminate dairy. My daughter has diarrhea in every diaper for the first year of her life, until finally I eliminated dairy. Her intestinal issues improved immediately and would come back even if she had one goldfish cracker. So I had to read labels and not give her anything that had casein or whey in the ingredients. (She, too, chugged her milk. She loved it. But the change to soy wasn't too bad.) We have done several dairy challenges over the past several years. At this point it looks like she can have dairy in the occasional baked good; but, if she has cheese or ice cream (she hasn't had straight milk) the loose stools return immediately, and she sometimes has bowel incontinence from it, too. Our current pediatrician has told me that milk allergy and/or lactose intolerance are the most common cause of intestinal issues in children.

Good luck,

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      130,294
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Dianr
    Newest Member
    Dianr
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.3k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • max it
    • cristiana
      My chest pain has been caused by costochondritis, as well as times when iron supplements has given me such bad bloating it has put pressure on my back and chest, and reflux can do the same. Also, along the lines of Wheatwacked's suggestion above, is it possible you had an injury to your chest/ribs way back that is being set off by either some sort of gastrointestinal bloating/discomfort? I distinctly remember really hurting a rib over forty years ago when I misjudged a wall and thought it was just behind me but in fact it wasn't.  I fell badly against the wall and I think I cracked a rib then.  For some strange reason I didn't tell anyone but I think had I gone to hospital an X-ray would have revealed a fracture. I think that rib has not been right since and I am sure that bloating makes it worse, as well as heavy lifting.
    • Dora77
      Sorry for the long post. I’m 18, and I was diagnosed with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes (T1D). My transglutaminase IgA was >128 U/mL, EMA IgA positive twice, and I’m HLA-DQ2 and DQ8 positive. I’ve been completely asymptomatic since diagnosis, even when I cheated with gluten sometimes in the past and used to eat out(2-5 years ago) I don’t get the typical celiac reactions, which makes it really hard to know when (or if) I’ve been glutened. But for the past year, I’ve been the most strict with my diet, and that’s also when a bunch of new issues started. I eat completely glutenfree, never eat out, dont eat food that says „may contain gluten“.   Current Health Problems • Floating, undigested stools for over a year now. Dont think its related to celiac as it was like this since im 17 and not 13-16( i got diagnosed at 13). • Chronic back pain started gradually, worsens with movement, lots of cracking/popping sounds. Been ongoing for a year now. First noticed in the gym. • Abdominal bulge on the right side, not painful but seems to be getting slightly bigger. Doctor didn’t find a hernia on ultrasound, but it was done lying down (I’ve read those can miss hernias). Noticed it like 6 months ago, couldve been there longer. • extremely dry and mildly swollen hands (this started before I started excessive hand-washing), and bloated face. • Signs of inattentive ADHD (noticed over the past 3 years), now combined with severe OCD focused on contamination and cross-contact. • Growth/puberty seemed to started after going gluten-free. Before that I was not developing. Dont know if any of these are because of celiac as my dad doesnt have those and he is a lot less strict gluten-free then me. I also had pancreatic elastase tested four times: values were 46 (very low), 236, 158, and 306 (normal). Gastroenterologist said one normal value is enough and I don’t have EPI. Family doctor prescribed Kreon anyway (after I pushed for it), and I just started taking 1 capsule (10,000 units) with meals 2 days ago, but couldn‘t see effects yet because I’ve been constipated the last few days. Maybe because of thyroid. I don’t have Hashimoto’s. No thyroid antibodies. But I took levothyroxine for slightly low FT4 levels. My thyroid levels fluctuated between borderline low and low-normal. And recently lowered my dose so that may have caused the constipating. I probably didn’t need it in the first place, and am thinking about stopping it soon.   Current Diet Right now, I only eat a very limited set of “safe” foods I prepare myself: • Gluten-free bread with tuna or cheese • Milk and cornflakes • gluten-free cookies/snacks • Bananas (the only fruit I trust right now) I rarely eat other fruits or vegetables, because I’m scared of contamination. My dad, who also has celiac but doesn’t care about CC, buys fruits, and he might’ve picked them up right after handling gluten bread. That makes me feel unsafe eating them. Even fruit at stores or markets feels risky because so many people with gluten on their hands touch them.   My Home Situation (Shared Kitchen) We’re a family of 5. Only my dad and I have celiac. He eats glutenfree but doesn’t care about CC and sometimes (but rarely) cheats. My mom and siblings eat gluten bread at every meal. My mom is honest (so if i ask her to be cautious, she most likely would try to), but doesn’t seem to understand how serious celiac is. She: • Stopped using gluten flour • only cooks gluten-free meals (but they still heat up gluten bread and also cook gluten noodles) • Keeps separate butter/jam/jars for me • Bought me a stainless steel pan Bu we didn’t replace old wooden utensils, cutting boards, or other pans. The new they bought me pan was even carried home in a shopping bag with gluten bread in it, which triggered my OCD. It also has a rubber handle and I’m scared it might still hold onto gluten. Even if it’s washed well, it’s stored next to other pans that were used for gluten food/bread. Our kitchen table is used for eating gluten bread daily. My mom wipes it but not with soap. I’m scared tiny particles remain. If she made gluten-free bread dough on a board at the table, I’d still worry about cross contmaination contamination even with something under the dough and on the table as at one point the dough would probably touch the table. So I stopped eating anything she makes.   I know OCD is making it worse, but I can’t tell how much of my fear is real and how much is anxiety. Examples: • I wash my hands 20–30 times a day — before eating, after touching anything at home or outside, after using my phone/laptop. • I don’t let others touch my phone, and I’m scared to use my laptop because friends at school or my brother (who eat gluten) have touched it. And it annoys me a lot when others touch my stuff and feels like it got contaminated and is unsafe instantly. • I stopped eating while using my phone or laptop, afraid of invisible gluten being on them. • I wash my hands after opening food packaging (since it was on store cashier belts where gluten food is placed). • I avoid sitting anywhere except my bed or one clean chair. • I won’t shake hands with anyone or walk past people eating gluten. • At school, when switching classes, I wash my hands before getting out my laptop, again before opening it, etc. • I open door knobs with my elbows instead my hands   Job Concerns (Powder Coating, Sandblasting, Etc.) I’m working a temporary job right now that involves: • Powder coating • Sandblasting • Wet spray painting • Anodizing There’s also a laboratory. I don’t need this job, and my OCD makes me believe that dust or air particles there might contain gluten somehow. Should I quit?   Doctors Haven’t Helped My family doctor told me: “Asymptomatic celiac isn’t serious, if you have no symptoms, your intestines won’t get damaged, so you don’t need a gluten-free diet.” I knew that was wrong, but he wasn’t open to listening. I just nodded and didn‘t argue. My gastroenterologist (who’s also a dietitian) said: „If your antibodies are negative, there’s no damage. It might even be okay to try small amounts of gluten later if antibodies stay negative.“ Also said, pepper that says “may contain gluten” is fine if it only contains pepper. She was more informed than my family doctor but didn’t seem to fully understand celiac either.   Questions I Need Help With 1. Is it realistically safe to eat food my mom cooks, if we get separate pans/ and boards even if gluten is still used in the same kitchen? There will always be low risk of cc chances like that she will still touch stuff that was touched by her and my siblings after they ate gluten. And as there are gluten eaters in the house and she also prepares and eats gluten. So would opening the fridge then getting the food and touching the food be okay? So basically what i am doing, washing my hands multiple times while preparing food, she would only wash it once before, then touch anything else (for example water tap or handles) that were touched with gluteny hands, then also touch the food. I dont know if I ever could feel safe, I could try telling her how important cc really is. And I trust her so she wouldnt lie to me then be careless about cc, but idk how safe it really can be if she and everyone else keeps eating gluten and touching stuff in the house after eating. 2. Do I need to worry about touching doorknobs, fridge handles, light switches, etc. that family members touched after eating gluten? What about public places like bus handles or school desks? Or like if i went to the gym, I would be touching stuff all the time, so there will be small amounts of gluten and those would get transferred on my phone if I touch my phone while in the gym. But I want to knos if it would be enough to do damage. 3. Is an endoscopy (without biopsy) enough to tell if my intestines are healed? I’d pay privately if it could help and if i dont get a refferal. Or do i need a biopsy? 4. Could my job (powder coating, sandblasting, etc.) expose me to gluten or damage my intestines through air/dust? 5. Do I need certified gluten-free toothpaste, hand soap, shampoo, or moisturizer? (For example: Vaseline and Colgate don’t contain gluten ingredients but say they can’t guarantee it’s gluten-free.) 6. Is spices like pepper with “may contain traces of gluten” safe if no gluten ingredients are listed? Or does everything need to be labeled gluten-free?  7. Is continuing to only eat my own food the better choice, or could I eventually go back to eating what my mom cooks if she’s careful? 8. is cutlery from dishwasher safe if there are stains? Stuff like knives is used for cutting gluten bread or fork for noodles etc. I often see stains which i dont know if its gluten or something else but our dish washer doesnt seem to make it completely clean. 9. I wash my hands multiple times while preparing food. Do i need to do the same when touching my phone. Like if i touch the fridge handle, I wash my hands then touch the phone. I dont eat while using my phone but i leave it on my bed and pillow and my face could come in contact with where it was.  10. Do i need to clean my phone or laptop if theyve been used by people who eat gluten? Even if no crumbs fall onto my keybaord, i mean because of invisible gluten on their fingers. 11. Does medication/supplements have to be strictly glutenfree? One company said they couldn‘t guarantee if their probiotics don’t contain traces of gluten.  12. I had bought supplements in the past, some of them say glutenfree and some of them dont(like the brand „NOW“ from iherb). I bought them and used them when i wasnt washing my hands so often, are they still safe? As I touched and opened them after touching door knobs, water taps etc. It was like a year ago when i bought those and even though i was eating gluten-free, I never worried about what i touch etc. I know this post is long. I’m just extremely overwhelmed. I’m trying to protect myself from long-term health damage, but the OCD is destroying my quality of life, and I honestly don’t know what’s a reasonable level of caution anymore. Thanks for reading.
    • lmemsm
      I've been making a lot of black bean brownies lately because it's one of the few gluten free dessert recipes that actually tastes palatable.  I've also seen chocolate cake recipes with black beans.  Someone mentioned a cookie recipe using lentils in place of flour.  Just wondering if anyone's run across any tried and true recipes using beans, lentils or peas for desserts?  I've seen a lot of recipes for garbanzo flour but I'm allergic to garbanzo beans/chickpeas.  Was wondering if adzuki or pinto beans might be useful in replacing some or all of the flour in baking.  Since gluten free flours can be crumbly was hoping the beans might help produce a better, less crumbly consistency.  Any recommendations for recipes?  Thanks.
    • lmemsm
      I've seen a lot of recipes for chia pudding, so I decided to make some with chia, water, cocoa and honey.  Didn't like the taste, so I added ground sunflower and ground pumpkin seed to it.  It tasted okay, but came out more like frosting that pudding.  I used to make pudding with tapioca starch, milk powder, water and sugar.  It came out very good but I haven't figured out what to use to replace the milk powder to make it dairy free.  Most starches will work in place of tapioca starch but quantity varies depending on the type of starch.  If I didn't add enough starch to get a pudding consistency, I'd add gelatin as well to fix it.  Avocado and cocoa makes a good dessert with a pudding like consistency.  Unfortunately, I have a bad reaction to avocados.
×
×
  • Create New...