presentation in infancy
Last reviewed 04/2022
In infants, gluten-sensitivity usually develops between the ages of 6 months and 2 years, as the child is exposed to wheat-based foods.
The child has usually been healthy but then develops:
- chronic diarrhoea
- steatorrhoea
- abdominal distension
- failure to thrive
The child is frequently irritable and anorexic, and may vomit. It may be hypotonic.
Weight gain is usually impaired more than growth; the child will tend to appear wasted.
In later, undiagnosed cases it may cause short stature or delayed puberty.