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Around the time Jennifer Klatt?s son, Matthew, was turning two, she noticed blood in his diaper. She and her husband took him to the doctor. After a series of tests and a referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist, he was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease, a kind of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). ?We knew nothing about it. We had never even heard of it,? says Klatt. ?We had a lot of tearful nights, looking up drugs and side effects online.?
That was more than a decade ago and, at the time, having a toddler diagnosed with IBD was almost unheard of. Though it?s still very rare, a new study has found that the rate at which children under five are being diagnosed with IBD has been rising substantially every year.
Researchers found that IBD?an umbrella term for two autoimmune diseases of the gut, Crohn?s disease and ulcerative colitis?has risen by an average of 7.2 percent every year between 1999 and 2010. The diseases, which can cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and fatigue, are caused by the body?s immune system attacking the gut. The most common treatment is strong steroids or anti-inflammatory drugs. The study found that, by 2010, there were 4.5 cases of IBD for every 100,000 kids under age five, and about 38 cases per 100,000 kids up to age 15.
For the Klatts family, even despite catching Matthew?s Crohn?s disease early, the road to recovery was a long one. ?Until he was six or seven, we travelled with a potty in the back of the van, so if Matthew ha...