Children with Crohn's Disease

Crohn's Disease occurs normally between the ages of 14 and 32. However, there are other cases being reported in children of other ages.

The attacks of crohns may occur every few months or every few years.

If crohns disease continues for several years then bowels may be damaged.

Crohns disease may increase chances for cancer by perhaps as much as 20 times.

Crohn's Disease kids is not contagious.

Symptoms of Crohn's Disease in Children

Children with Crohn's Disease may exhibit any combination of the following symptoms. They often go undiagnosed for a long time.

Abdominal pain and cramping
Recurring diarrhea, not related to flu or other viral illness
Unexplained low grade fever
Anemia
Joint pain accompanied by redness
Eye inflammation, (if left untreated may lead to blindness)
Abdominal swelling, accompanied by pain
Sudden severe constipation, with inability to pass gas
Fissures or openings on the skin with no known cause
Loss of appetite
Rectal bleeding

Slow Growth caused by Crohn's Disease

Crohn's Disease in adults can result in weight loss, and although this can happen in children, a more regular occurrence is a lack of growth.

Perhaps you have noticed your child is shorter than most other children in his/her class or perhaps their shoe, glove or coat size has remained the same for an extended period of time signaling slower than average growth.

Other possible signs are a late onset of puberty or compromised bone development, usually detected by X-ray.

It is important to monitor your child's height and weight development. This is simple to do using a growth chart where you plot your child's height every 6-12 months.

You can then compare his/her growth against the national average for children of the same age.

Similarly there are guidelines for weight based on age-group which you can use to assess whether your child is growing well or not.

Protocol for Kids with Crohns

Diet and Nutrition:

Dietary modifications are extremely important in managing Crohn's Disease in children, as with adults. See Breaking the Vicious Cycle
Reduce Inflammation.

Reduce the rate of relapse with Fish Oil.
Essential Fatty Acids are extremely effective in reducing inflammation.
- Study: A recent study by Belluzzi and colleagues in Italy showed that a fish oil preparation was effective in reducing the rate of relapse of Crohn's Disease patients in remission. 78 patients with Crohn's Disease were randomised to receive either 3 capsules of fish oil 3 times daily or 3 capsules of placebo 3 times daily. Patients were clinically in remission and off medication three months before trial entry - blood tests, however, indicated a mild increase in inflammation.
- Results: Out of 39 patients in the fish oil group, 11 relapsed compared to 27 out of 39 in the placebo group. After one year of treatment 23 patients in the fish oil group were still in remission compared to only 10 in the placebo group.
Children love the flavor of DHA Junior.

Protect and Support Your Child's Immune System with Probiotics.

Dr. Ohhira and other scientists observed that a high percentage of children nourished on mother's milk enjoy good health and a stronger immune system when compared to bottle-fed infants. He also observed that these children acquired a larger number of friendly strains of bifidobacteria when compared to bottle-fed children who had few or none at all.

Dr. Ohhira also noted that the acidic colon condition of breast-fed babies remained within a constant range of pH 5.5 to 6.5. His studies have established that the lactic acid bacteria that colonized the colon of infants created this acidic condition.
The organic acids, produced by the lactic acid bacteria present in the colon, prevent the survival of harmful bacteria in the baby's intestinal tract. This condition forms the first line of defense for the baby against any form of illness. To protect and support the immune system, a probiotic supplement can be taken.

Dr. Ohhira developed an award-winning Probiotic product that recolonizes the microflora in the digestive tract, enhances the immune system, and promotes good health. His product is completely organic, vegetarian and non-dairy and safe for infants and children.

Optimize your Child's Digestive Function

Using
- BerryCranberry from Aloe Complete and
- Colostrum 4 Kids - With Probiotics
are other ways to optimize your child's digestive function.

Home test differentiates between crohns and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in Children

A comprehensive home stool test from Genova Lab can give you more insight into your child's digestive function and gut microbial ecology. The test offers a noninvasive differential diagnosis between

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis) and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), also
expanded bacteria, yeast and parasite detection,
a reliable assessment of exocrine pancreatic function, and
a noninvasive risk assessment for colorectal cancer.

If bacteria, yeast or parasites are detected, they are grown out to establish which natural products will inhibit their growth.

Check the pH of your child's urine on a daily basis using a small strip of Litmus Paper.

Quality Products.

Crohns.net lines of children’s products are all natural and/or organic. They have no side effects, no adverse reactions, and may be used on infants and children alike.

View the whole range of Childrens Products.

Read more about Crohn's Disease here.