False Negative Tests In Children Under 5

[karenhockley]

I got my son tested today and my Dr mentioned that there maybe a change the results maybe a false negative because of his age (he just turned 4) has anyone ever heard of this before? He's still on a gluten filled diet right now unless he wants cookies, all baked goods are gluten free because of me :)I"m wondering if I'm just stressing over nothing, which I tend to do when it comes to my 3 little ones.

[mygfworld]

I got my son tested today and my Dr mentioned that there maybe a change the results maybe a false negative because of his age (he just turned 4) has anyone ever heard of this before? He's still on a gluten filled diet right now unless he wants cookies, all baked goods are gluten free because of me :)I"m wondering if I'm just stressing over nothing, which I tend to do when it comes to my 3 little ones.

i've heard that false negatives are common in young kids. My yougest was tested and biopsied as a 2 year old. The results were "inconclusive"! What in the world does that mean? Dr said shes negative and fine. No more testing to be performed. So i made her gluten-free/cf against drs orders. Within a week she showed signs of improvement. I wish i had a positive biopsy for her. It would eliminate the drs questioning why i made her gluten-free/cf. She reacts to gluten and has improved greatly on the gluten-free/cf diet.

For your child, if the blood test results are negative, you can have gene testing done. if the biopsy was negative, you can also just make the child gluten-free for a few months and look for improvements or reactions. Good luck

[Tatum]

Wow, this is interesting! My 16 month old just tested negative & I could have sworn up & down Celiac is what she has. Maybe I'll try a gluten-free diet anyway and see what happens. I guess it can't hurt!

[karenhockley]

Thanks for the info. I was leaning towards just putting him on a gluten free diet but I was wondering if anyone else had heard of this.

[Christine E]

Thanks for the info. I was leaning towards just putting him on a gluten free diet but I was wondering if anyone else had heard of this.

[Christine E]

My son was diagnosed at age 1. His blood screens have always been negative. The doctor diagnosed him based on a positive genetic test and a successful gluten-free diet. He did have an endoscopy that showed slight "changes" but now at the age of almost 6 he has never tested positive on the blood screens.

[OBXMom]

Our pediatrician told me he thought my son had celiac disease at 2, put us on a gluten free diet and sent us to a specialist. My son tested negative, maybe because of his age and maybe because he had been on a gluten-free diet, either way, I'm still sad that he wasn't diagnosed until 7. When I think of all the problems he could have avoided. . .Wish I had known about this place then, maybe I would have figured it out.

[chasing4]

I've heard the same thing, that there are a lot of false negatives with kids under 5. My daughter was diagnosed at 5, who is now 7, and she's made a huge improvement. My son, who just turned 4 in December, is showing almost all the same symptoms she had when she was 4 and I'm positive he has Celiac too. I'm not gonna worry about getting him tested at this time, since it may come through as false anyways. I have just decided to change his diet and he has been doing a lot better.