But signs of celiac disease in infants and toddlers can be very subtle and easy to miss.
Behavior that indicates distress in your baby’s tummy region can easily be mistaken for general fussiness.
Getty Images / Tom Merton
Sometimes celiac disease symptoms can be similar to other conditions, like gluten intolerance.
Getty Images / Tom Merton
But how can you know if your baby should be tested?
Unfortunately, it may be hard to tell.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease and digestive disorder.
Foods with the protein gluten trigger your white blood cells, causing damage to your small intestine lining.
Digestive symptoms are more common in children than adults.
Failure to Thrive
When most people think ofceliac disease symptoms, they think of diarrhea.
Failure to thrive describes infants and children who don’t gain weight or develop as quickly as their peers.
But there are other possible indications, even though not all babies will have these symptoms.
Causes
With celiac disease, gluten causes white blood cells to attack the intestinalvilli.
These are finger-like projections that line the small intestine and absorb nutrients.
Celiac disease erodes this lining so the body can’t absorb the nutrients that your child needs to grow.
It isn’t entirely clear what causes people to have celiac disease.
However, genetics do play a role, since celiac disease runs in families.
Celiac disease almost always occurs in those who have a gene variant, either DQ2 or DQ8.
Those who don’t have one of these gene variants are unlikely to get celiac disease.
However, only 3% of people with one of those variants actually get celiac disease.
Researchers are looking into other factors that can cause celiac disease.
You should discuss with your pediatrician whether an endoscopy is necessary in your child’s case.
This can be challenging since it’s found in many different foods.
Your healthcare provider may refer you to a dietitian to help you learn what foods to avoid.
Some general tips for eliminating gluten include:
A single exposure to gluten probably won’t cause symptoms.
However, continuous exposure to gluten will start to cause damage to the intestines.
Be ready to describe symptoms and share when you first introduced gluten to your baby’s diet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Possibly.
However, it’s in very small quantities that aren’t likely to cause issues.
It’s possible, but this usually only happens in older teens and adults.
Symptoms include constipation, diarrhea, and a distended stomach.
Check with your healthcare provider if you think your baby may have issues with gluten.
They can do tests to find out if it’s celiac disease or something else like gluten intolerance.
Celiac disease is a lifelong autoimmune disorder.
However, your child can lead a normal, healthy life by consistently following a gluten-free diet.
This usually requires an upper endoscopy and biopsy, performed by a gastroenterologist.
Celiac disease often causes issues such as poor appetite, short stature, and weight loss.
Your healthcare provider will closely monitor your child to ensure that they stay on track.
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