The Healthy Celiac Podcast

The Parent’s Guide to Spotting Celiac Disease Symptoms in Children Ep. 221

• Belinda Whelan • Season 1 • Episode 221

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If your child shows symptoms that make you suspect celiac disease, but doctors keep brushing you off, this episode is for you. Too many parents are gaslit or dismissed when raising valid concerns about their child’s health. In this episode, I break down:

  • Common but overlooked celiac symptoms in children and teens
  • Why constipation, low energy, irritability, stunted growth, and even skin or dental issues shouldn’t be ignored
  • My personal experiences with my own children and how I had to fight for answers
  • How to advocate for testing and why you have every right to demand it

Celiac disease presents differently in everyone, including children. By knowing what to look for, you’ll be better equipped to push for the testing your child deserves.


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Speaker 1:

If you suspect that maybe one of your children has celiac disease and you've either been gaslit by doctors or pushed aside, this episode is for you, to help get you some more answers and help you see whether it is actually worth pursuing a little bit further. So the problem that I see time and time again with parents is they have either got celiac disease themselves or they know others that have got celiac disease and their child presents with symptoms that has led them to believe that their child has celiac disease and they go along to their doctor and they say all of the things on their mind what they're concerned about, and the doctor dismisses them. You know, it's just. You know that's just what toddlers do, or that's normal teenage behavior, or oh no, it's nothing to worry about, it'll settle, whatever. Okay, you are being gaslit. If this is being pushed aside, like your concerns are not important, you are being gaslit by that doctor. You have every right to have your child tested for celiac disease and the thing is everyone presents differently. There's hundreds of symptoms of celiac disease, so it's impossible for a doctor to just make an assumption and rule out your child based on just having a short conversation.

Speaker 1:

You know, recently I asked a doctor about my teenage daughter being tested. She totally blew me off and was talking to my daughter instead of me being you know, being her parent. She went straight to my daughter and was asking her if she had diarrhea, asking if she had tummy problems. My daughter said no and because of that she looked at me and said she doesn't have celiac disease. I was mortified and thankfully I know more than this doctor about celiac disease because I did put her in her place and I did stand up for my daughter and I told her there are hundreds of symptoms of celiac disease. Just because she hasn't got diarrhea doesn't mean she doesn't have celiac disease. I want her tested, I want the blood test so you can push for it. Some doctors do not, like you know, sending people off for blood tests a lot, but you have every right to have your child tested because this is a medical concern. This can cause long-term issues if they do have celiac disease and you don't get that child tested and get answers. So let's talk about some of the problems that children do face, because you know you might have a child that can't even talk yet and that can be quite challenging.

Speaker 1:

So my son he has non-celiac gluten sensitivity. He was diagnosed at the age of four. I could see problems in his stools from I can't even remember. I think he was around one, maybe even younger, and it took quite some time to finally get him tested. This is with me, pushing, pushing, pushing. It still took time. So keep advocating, keep asking for those tests.

Speaker 1:

So that is one of the first things to be looking for. Does your child have foul, foul stools? Do they have diarrhea constantly? Or they might have the opposite, that they have constipation. Many parents get told that it is normal for children to be constipated, but you know your child. If your child is eating well and has a good broad range of foods in their diet, they shouldn't be constipated. If they're drinking water, they should not be constipated. So that is definitely something worth looking at.

Speaker 1:

If they have a hard, swollen tummy, that's another symptom. They may be struggling with concentration. If they're a little bit older, if they're already started in school, if they are struggling with their growth. So some people you can look at them little children and they're a lot smaller than the rest of their kids in the classroom. This is stunted growth. This is because they're not getting the nutrients that their body needs to grow and develop. So that is definitely a very, very concerning side effect of consuming gluten when you have celiac disease and it's not diagnosed.

Speaker 1:

So if your child is smaller than their peers, absolutely it's worth ruling out and checking that they may or may not have celiac disease. They may be very thin or frail. They may have, like you know, those really skinny legs but then a pop belly. That's a sign of celiac disease. So again getting tested, ruling it out. They may have random vomiting, with no other you know fever or anything that kind of makes you go that they've got an illness, but they just randomly will vomit. That's another symptom to be concerned about. Or they may just be irritable or fussy or have really low energy.

Speaker 1:

My son struggled with low energy for so long. It was heartbreaking because he would literally plunk himself on the couch and tell me how exhausted he was. It was heartbreaking because he should have been running around and being a boy and having all tell me how exhausted he was. It was heartbreaking because he should have been running around and being a boy and having all the fun, but he was just exhausted. The poor kid. And in some cases some kids will also have developmental delays, so that can be quite concerning. So if your child's a little bit behind at school or they're struggling with their grades, it could be because of celiac disease.

Speaker 1:

Now, as our kids get a little bit older, they can start to explain how they're feeling and they can talk to us about their symptoms. It's a little bit harder when they're smaller and they don't know how to kind of communicate. Little kids will tend to react through being angry, frustrated, crying a lot and just that general, just irritability. But when they get to being a little bit older, kind of like the five to ten age group, they can start to tell you what is going on. So if they're starting to feel brain foggy, they might say something like my head hurts or my eyes are blurry.

Speaker 1:

They can be signs of celiac disease. So if this is something that they complain about regularly, it's definitely definitely get them checked out. You may notice that they are not gaining weight. They could be super skinny and, you know, eating all the food. So this is a big problem because when someone with celiac disease is not absorbing their nutrients, they tend to feel very, very hungry all the time. When I was at my worst, I had gone down two clothing sizes and I was always hungry and no matter how much I ate, I could not gain weight because the food was going straight through me. So if your child's the same they're just constantly, constantly hungry it could be that their body is not absorbing the nutrients that they need from all that food that they're consuming. They may be low in energy, they may be fatigued, they may have low iron.

Speaker 1:

Often a lot of doctors, when they do diagnose someone with low iron, they will test for celiac disease. So many people do tell me that this is how they got their diagnosis. It was a fluke, you know. They went along to their doctor, they had a blood test for low iron and the doctor was smart enough to also do a blood test for celiac disease and that's how they got their diagnosis. So if your child is showing signs of low iron, then getting them tested for the iron and also ruling out celiac disease is a good answer as well.

Speaker 1:

I've done a whole episode on this, but children can also have issues with their teeth, so it can be pitting in their teeth, it can be enamel problems, holes in their teeth, breakages, things like that, and that's because their body is not absorbing the nutrients that their teeth need to be strong and healthy. So if your child has any teeth issues, again that can definitely be related to celiac disease. There's also a heap of skin conditions that are related to celiac disease. There's also a heap of skin conditions that are related to celiac disease. So things such as eczema, dermatitis, psoriasis, rosacea there's a few others as well. So if you've got any skin and if your child has got any skin conditions that you haven't been able to get answers for, they can certainly be caused by celiac disease.

Speaker 1:

And then we move on to teenagers, and this is another whole ball game. So if you have a child who is going into their teen years or is a teenager, and they are maybe not as developed as their peers, delayed puberty is also a sign of celiac disease. So you know, their friends might be developing and they feel like a child still. This is because their body is not getting to the stage that it needs to, like their peers are. So, again, celiac disease holding them back from that. It will improve once they're on a gluten-free diet, but it is something to be aware of because it is very, very common.

Speaker 1:

So if your daughter hasn't got her period yet and she's you know, 15, that's a sure sign of 100% going and getting tested for celiac disease. Or they may have irregular periods. That is also a problem that many women face and, of course, if your teen has already got their period period, then that's something that she might be struggling with as well, and a lot of people with undiagnosed celiac disease find that they are suffering with things like irritability and even mood problems that can lead to depression. So if your child you know is is changing in their personality, it's not always due to celiac disease. A lot of teenagers do withdraw from their parents. It's just normal. It is actually confirmed that that is normal behavior.

Speaker 1:

But you know your child, if they are not their normal selves and they've gone quite to a depressive state, this can be linked. This is something very, very important to keep an eye on, because it's amazing what our gut does when it's not being treated properly. So definitely, definitely getting on top of that, because that can cause further issues as well. So I hope your child is not dealing with depression or low mood or feeling bad about themselves. But if they are, please, please, seek support for that. And then another thing they may be struggling with is actually their schoolwork. So if they're getting behind, if they're struggling to keep up, it could be due to their brain. It could be due to having brain fog all the time, feeling unwell and fatigued. It's really hard to concentrate and to get your school work done when you are in that state. So there's lots and lots of symptoms. This barely scratches the surface, but these are some of those really common ones that we do see across the different age groups, with children with undiagnosed celiac disease.

Speaker 1:

Now there is hope. There is always hope, and that is getting tested. So, going along to your doctor asking for the celiac serology test, making sure that you rule out celiac disease and getting on top of it, if you do get a celiac disease diagnosis for your child, you can help them heal. You can help them function and grow and develop beautifully. It's not, you know, it's not all doom and gloom. There is light at the end of the tunnel and I'm not even joking.

Speaker 1:

My child, my little boy, he, he knows how crappy he feels when he eats gluten, so he is so happy to eat gluten-free. He's so grateful when I buy him, you know gluten-free treats and and bring him you know goodies home from the supermarket, and he knows how much better he feels on a gluten-free diet. So there is light at the end of the tunnel and it's about educating your child. It's about educating yourself If you don't have celiac disease, but it's about support and guidance and making your child live a really healthy, long and happy life with celiac disease.

Speaker 1:

So please know that all children are different. Some people will have lots of symptoms, some people may only have one symptom, but we are all different. We all present differently with our symptoms and it's important to listen to your child when they share this information with you, which you obviously have, because you're checking out this episode, which I'm super grateful for and I'm so glad that you did and I hope that it's given you some guidance to go and speak with your doctor and find out more about celiac disease and getting your child tested. So thank you so much for tuning in. I truly hope this has helped someone out there and I look forward to talking with you again on next week's episode. Have a great week and I'll talk to you then. Take care Bye.

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Belinda Whelan

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