idiopathic steatorrhea

idiopathic steatorrhea

Etymology: Gk, idios, own, pathos, disease, stear, fat, rhoia, flow

excess fat in the stool, particularly as in celiac disease in adults.

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Patient discussion about idiopathic steatorrhea.

Q. What is Gluten and what is gluten allergy? My nephew is coming to stay with me for a few days and his mother told me that since he is allergic to gluten that I shouldn't give him to eat any. What is gluten?

A. Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat (and similar proteins of the tribe Triticeae which includes other cultivars such as barley and rye). When someone is allergic to gluten the only effective treatment is a lifelong gluten-free diet.
Here is a link to a website with ideas for cooking without gluten:
http://www.celiac.com/categories/Gluten%252dFree-Cooking/

Q. Is FTT a symptom of celiac? My 1.5 year old son has FTT (failure to thrive) and stomach aches. What could be causing it?

A. Failure to thrive lacks a precise definition, in part because it describes a condition rather than a specific disease. Children who fail to thrive don't receive or are unable to take in, retain, or utilize the calories needed to gain weight and grow as expected. FTT can be caused from many different things: social factors, conditions involving the gastrointestinal system like gastroesophageal reflux, chronic diarrhea, cystic fibrosis, chronic liver disease, and celiac disease. From a chronic illness or medical disorder, an intolerance of milk protein, infections or metabolic disorders.

Q. How do you diagnose celiac? My daughter is 3 years old and is constantly vomiting, has diarrhea and stomach aches. Could this be celiac?

A. Numerous studies demonstrate that children with Celiac frequently have gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms such as diarrhea with failure to thrive (FTT), abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation, and abdominal distension. The symptoms you described could in fact be celiac so you should ask your GP to test your duaghter for it.