How to Help a Child with IBD: a Mother's Perspective

Throughout this series of six articles we have dealt with symptoms, treatments, emotional effects, and multiple cases of IBD in a single household. It is our hope that in bringing these issues to public awareness, there will be a greater understanding of the impact IBD has on an individual or family.

We have discussed traumatic symptoms and treatments. This article, however, is different. We will be interviewing the mother of a five year old IBD patient.

First, I'd like to thank you for your time and interest in assisting with this series on IBD. I know it has affected your family and your own life.

Without getting into details that could in any way be harmful for your daughter, we would like to discuss issues unique to pediatric IBD.

Q. What signified the onset of IBS with your daughter?

A. Our daughter's symptoms began with a normal childhood stomach ache. It was normal until it developed into severe pain, diarrhea, and painful gas.

Q. At what point did you realize that the stomach pain was more than just a childhood tummy ache?

A. The first time it happened, I picked my daughter up at school, on the way home she constantly kicked the van door because the pain was so severe. My goal was to get her home as quickly as possible and try to help ease her pain.

It's safe to say I really didn't understand what was going on, but I knew this was no childhood tummy ache.

Q. Does your pediatrician treat this condition, or were you referred to a specialist?

A. Wewere referred to a pediatric gastroenterologist by our pediatrician and a friend who had similar experiences with their child. The doctor did an exam and took a thorough medical history. He asked about diet, exercise, and lifestyle.

He wanted a diet history accompanied by a log of episodes, which we had already prepared.

The doctor prescribed a round of antibiotics to make sure we weren't dealing with a bacterial infection. He also described a plan of various tests that he would do if the antibiotics didn't work.

Q.How would you recommend preparing a child for a GI visit?