Can Young Children have Crohn's Disease?

Crohn’s disease is usually diagnosed in young adults, and into older ages. What is Not mentioned in barely any articles is that most Doctors often don’t diagnose Young children with Crohn’s Disease, only because they do not know enough information themselves to make a diagnosis-why is this? Why is it that there are short little blurbs in their medical text books about Crohn’s Disease, but have hundreds of pages about Colon Cancer-Crohn’s Disease, often times can turn into Colon Cancer if not treated soon enough, or properly.


It is hard enough on a grown adult to have to deal with the chaos Crohn’s Disease brings to their lives. The kinds of obstacles that make the already hard job of simply growing up for kids, is made that much harder having to deal with a life of pain.


Many people take a look at me, and would not have any clue that I have a chronic illness, taking a look at a child with Crohn’s disease is a completely different case. Many children will have growth problems because they are unable to absorb the nutrients their little bodies need to grow, which in turn affects their bone growth.
Having a child with absolutely no energy to do anything, or any ambition is heart breaking for a parent.
I know for myself seeing my daughter practice her dance routines is a joy I will hold onto for life, imagine having a child that could not muster up enough energy to get out of bed, or ride their bike for more that ten minutes at a time.

Kids with Crohn’s disease usually have plenty of anxiety, which affects their whole social life with parents, siblings, friends, teachers etc. The worst part about this whole disease affecting children is that they are usually unable to communicate exactly what is wrong. I was able to research on the internet and determine what I had, children end up feeling lost, inadequate, and misunderstood.

A question I ask myself constantly is; if a mother researches on behalf of her child and sees that her child has almost all the symptoms of a Crohn’s patient, and presents this to a Doctor, should there not be  immediate action taken, a pediatric colonoscopy right away? You would think this would be the common thing Doctors would do- I will tell you it is not.

If a Doctor brushes you off, and makes you believe your child is faking, or you are just one of those moms exaggerating your child’s symptoms, do you give up and believe the doctor, or trust in yourself, your mother’s intuition to keep fighting until you get answers?

My personal opinion, keep fighting. Only you know your child well enough to know he/she is sick-do not have a doctor tell you otherwise.

Because of all your bravery and determination that little guy of yours is one step closer to being able to manage all the pain he is in, and begin to live a life free of pain and worries. To be able to see him be happy, active, and pain free is something we are all hoping for. xoxo