Healthbeautyidea.com | Celiac Disease in Kids: Causes, Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment – Celiac disease is one of the health problems that can be experienced by babies. This disease is a genetic-related autoimmune disorder that occurs due to eating gluten. For person with celiac disease, eating specific types of products containing gluten can trigger an immune response that triggers damage to the small intestine.
In celiac disease, the immune system will react after consuming gluten. This can interfere with the ability of the small intestine to absorb nutrients contained in food, resulting in malnutrition and various other complications.
Gluten itself is a protein that is widely contained in barley, wheat, rye, and some grains. Some examples of foods that contain gluten are pasta, cakes, cereals, and bread. Gluten serves to make bread dough or other foods elastic and chewy.
What causes celiac disease in children?
The exact cause of Celiac Disease (CD) is still unknown.
Babies with CDs continually inherit one particular gene from a parent that makes them prone to the disease.
But because many person have related genes, but don’t develop CDs, it’s probably that other genes also play a role.
Some scientist believe that celiac disease in kids can be caused by a combination of:
- It has genes that make your baby more vulnerable.
- Gluten exposure.
- Exposure to toxins or infections, such as rotavirus.
Symptoms of celiac disease in kids
Infants and toddlers who are prone to this autoimmune disorder may begin to show symptoms as soon as they are introduced to foods containing gluten.
But signs of CD in infants and toddlers can be so unrecognizable, that they are often simply ignored.
Generally, this infant autoimmune disorder can be diagnosed before the baby is two years old.
Even in some cases, babies less than one year old are also diagnosed with CD.
The question is, how can you tell if your child may have Celiac Disease?
Unfortunately, it is quite difficult to be able to recognize it.
But there are some key symptoms of celiac disease in kids that should be consulted by a doctor immediately, especially if one of the parents has a family history of CD.
Some of these symptoms include:
- Failure develops, including difficulty gaining weight or even continuous weight loss.
- Swollen stomach.
- Constipation.
- Diarrhea.
- Irritable.
- Fatigue.
Diagnosis
Children suffering from this condition show intolerance to wheat and barley varieties. Diagnosis of health problems is made and established through repeated examinations, endoscopies, and routine blood and stool tests. Serological blood tests help determine the presence of anti-tTG antibodies.
Serological tests performed are based on gliadin or tissue transglutaminase, tTG or indirect immunofluorescence. Upper jejunum pathology, upper endoscopy, and duodenal biopsy are also performed to obtain tissue samples, and determine the level of healthy intestinal tissue compared to the damaged part.
Treatment
The most effective treatment option for treating celiac disease in ikds is the early adoption of a gluten-free diet. It is important to monitor and ensure strict adherence to the diet so that the intestines heal properly and trigger the resolution of symptoms as soon as possible.
This not only eliminates a child’s risk of developing osteoporosis, but also prevents bowel cancer attacks. The child’s age, exposure to gluten-containing foods during infancy, and the extent of small intestine damage are all factors to consider during treatment. Early screening and internal biopsies help keep the condition under control.
A gluten-free diet plan needs to be drawn up by a nutritionist. It is important for the child’s family to be able to identify a list of ingredients and foods in order to make the right decision. This diet is known to deliver in immediate pauses and trigger immediate intestinal healing. If this condition is ignored, the child is at risk of contracting a life-threatening disease during adolescence.
If the child does not show improvement when given a gluten-free diet, it is important to check the content of gluten additives present in preservatives, modified food starches, and stabilizers, which are usually an integral part of the shelf food component.
