Celiac Disease: When Diarrhea and Vomiting in Children is a Sign of Dietary Complications

In the United States, there is a growing phenomenon among children and their dietary health. While many consumer advocate groups reach out to parents to educate the importance of healthy diet in an effort to fight the dangers of obesity, there is another set of advocates that work to educate parents about an all too common condition known as Celiac Disease.

As a genetic disorder, Celiac Disease is a condition which affects millions of children in the United States. Essentially, Celiac Disease is a gluten intolerance in which the child suffers a deterioration and damage of the small intestine, attributed to the intake of gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat and oats which are fed to children as part of a healthy dietary program.

Celiac Disease can affect infants and toddlers also though it is rare and uncommon. Because toddlers and infants are very restricted in their dietary intake, gluten intolerance is commonly not realized until later in grade school. However, it is possible for an infant or toddler to exhibit symptoms of Celiac Disease.

One of the first signs of Celiac Disease in an infant or toddler is the sudden and profuse onset of diarrhea that is extremely odorous and almost appears foamy. Toddlers and infants with Celiac Disease will also suffer from projectile vomiting and, as a result, express abnormal feeding patterns.

When feeding patterns, diarrhea and vomiting are the result of a gluten allergy in an infant or toddler, the child will, eventually, begin to suffer from a lack of calcium, folic acid and essential vitamins needed to grow healthy bones and muscles. Dental complications are often quite common and, with this overall deterioration in health, the child may become extremely lethargic, fatigued and irritable.