Symptoms Of Celiac Disease: How To Know If A Child Is Celiac
Celiac disease is a problem that we hear about more and more often lately. But how do you know if your child is celiac? We tell you here what are the main symptoms of celiac disease.
When infants start complementary feeding, some begin to feel sick and can’t tolerate certain foods. If this is the case, your child may have celiac disease.
Celiac disease is a lifelong food intolerance to gluten, a protein found in most grains such as wheat, rye or oats. If a child suffers from this disease, he will be forced to avoid any product that contains these grains.
It is useful to know that there are also cereals that do not contain gluten such as corn, rice, sorghum and millet. Children with gluten intolerance can take these cereals and are usually the first to be included in their diet.
Symptoms of celiac disease: how to spot it
Celiac disease is typically discovered in a child when complementary feeding is initiated and foods other than milk are introduced. An example is the cereal porridges which are recommended as a first food. It usually starts with gluten-free baby food and then moves on to those that contain it.
Gluten intolerance can occur at any age, but it is common to diagnose it between 6 months and two years and usually between two or three months after consuming gluten. Often the symptoms of celiac disease are also common in the parents of celiac children, who thus discover that they are too.
It is necessary to take into account that this is not an immediate reaction as it happens with allergies, for example that to eggs or dried fruit, but that it occurs slowly. Once celiac disease is diagnosed, the person does not have to take gluten for life.
If you think your child may have celiac disease, it is best to consult the pediatrician who can confirm the doubts and diagnose the disease. Gluten intolerance is not a gluten allergy and your doctor will tell you what steps to take if your child has it. It is important that you undergo tests and that you have a safe result because the symptoms of celiac disease can also correspond to other diseases.
Symptoms of celiac disease
Children can have various symptoms of celiac disease, although the most common are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and growth problems. In general, pediatricians immediately suspect that it may be celiac disease when these symptoms are described, and proceed to carry out the necessary tests.
Gluten intolerance can also cause poor intestinal absorption of nutrients. It can cause different symptoms such as tiredness, itching, nosebleeds, spasms or lactose intolerance.
Celiac children must avoid foods that contain gluten. For this reason it is necessary to check product labels when buying food.
A few years ago it was very difficult to find products for celiacs, but today this is no longer the case. There are also some brands specializing in gluten-free products and there are associations, such as AIC, which can offer you useful information. Parents of children with gluten intolerance can also be contacted on the internet to exchange opinions and advice.
If one of the child’s parents is celiac, experts say there may be a genetic predisposition of the child to celiac disease. It is a good thing to also subject the brothers to the examination to verify intolerance.
What to do if a child is celiac
The most important thing, if the pediatrician confirms that your child is celiac, is not to make a tragedy of it. Look on the bright side: the discovery of intolerance happened quickly. For this reason it is immediately possible to eliminate foods with gluten in order to eliminate the burdensome symptoms of celiac disease.
Nowadays the offer of gluten-free products is very wide and there are pizzas, cakes and biscuits for celiacs, as well as countless recipes to prepare at home. You just have to remember to notify the school canteen or family and friends on occasions such as snacks, parties or birthdays.
The best thing is that the child gets used to recognizing the products he can consume or not, looking at the labels in the case of a new food. Many children today are diagnosed with gluten intolerance in childhood, but despite this they can still lead a perfectly normal life.
