Could this be a gluten allergy in a four year old or am I jumping the gun?

[Broccolibravado]

Four year (nearly five) DD has been suffering on and off for over a year with a number of things: aching legs (put it down to growing pains), ulcers and a mottled sore tongue (put it down to being run down), itchiness on the inner and outside of her elbows and her back and above her knees which she itches so it bleeds and becomes craters (docs given eczema creams and hydro cortisone but doesn't seem to help), aching back, complains of being tired, has been withdrawn at times and then after a couple of weeks seems to rejuvenate. She is small in height but about 25th percentile in weight for her age. She has started to complain of headaches over the last couple of months and we are off for a sight check today to see if there's an issue with her sight but I'm pretty sure theres not. Also she has a runny tummy at least once a week for a minimum of two days.
I seem to have been to the docs back and forth over the last year to eighteen months with things in isolation but have only just begun to put them all together and wondered if they could be pointers to being a coeliac? Just wondered if anyone has been through similar or had a child with similar symptoms that perhaps just sorted themselves out. Or has anyone advice to what could be causing these problems? I feel that there is something inherently not right with her. I have another child a year younger who shows none of these issues and has the same lifestyle. Thanks for any help you can share x

maybe make a food diary alongside a poo , excema headache diary and see if anything links or may be a trigger for her problems

Has she had any blood tests? My little boy has a problem with his tummy and the 1st thing our doctor ruled out was Coeliac

Cut out gluten for 6 weeks and see if it makes any difference.

Thanks for your replies, it's tricky to keep track of what she eats due to school dinners and their free salad and fruit bar which also includes yoghurts and bread. No she hasn't had any blood tests. I think to have a blood test for coeliacs you have to keep eating gluten which is why I'm a bit adverse to cutting it out to then risk being told she needs to eat it again for a longboard period before they'll test.

Please don’t cut gluten out! If any tests are needed, you have to be eating gluten for them to be reliable.

Agree don't cut out gluten if you might need tests. Why not go for your own peace of mind? No harm in some blood tests and could help find any issue,or at least clarify if there is not an issue. It's rarely a good idea to cut food groups in kids this age unless they can be shown to medically need it, can risk nutrition and it's very easy to accidentally placebo yourself and see patterns that aren't there (though you sound v sensible so probably know this already!)

Disagree...cut it out. If you introduce and it is a problem then don't let them have it. Blood tests are often inacurate and biopsy needed and why would you do that if you can do elimination and see if it is a problem?

So many great alternatives...buckwheat pasta in sainsbury's...chickpea pasta and flour...ground almonds for coating fish and chicken...a rainbow of veggies. No need to be deficient in anything utter nonsense.

Have you looked at Coeliac Uk website? They have a lot of information about symptoms, diagnosis etc in children. My daughter is Coeliac (it's an autoimmune disease not an allergy) and also has multiple food allergies, I would say you are totally correct in insisting you get a blood test before cutting out gluten - once you cut it out it's very hard to reintroduce something which is effectively poisoning your child. Getting the correct diagnosis is important because Coeliac is a disease and needs specific follow up care. Phew, long, sorry!

DO NOT cut out gluten before coeliac testing

With coeliac diagnosis you get hopefully still gf prescriptions and annual checks.

Remember coeliac is lifelong autoimmune condition . It is not an allergy.

Yes but it is often missed and needs gut biopsy...

My son didn't need to keep eating gluten for his Coeliac test. Take her to the doctors. Hope you get answers soon

Mouth ulcers can be due to anaemia which can be as a result of underlying coeliac disease and the skin issues may be dermatitis herpetiformis which is the skin symptom of coeliac. I agree with others who have said get the blood test for coeliac first before cutting out gluten.

Yes keep a food diary , it could also be a chicken allergy dd2 has this , headaches are a symptom of it.

Thanks for all the responses. Surprisingly the sight test has indicated she does need glasses so hopefully the headaches will disappear. I'm amazed at this as she had a sight test a year ago in hospital and was fine. I'm going to keep a food diary over the next fortnight and then go and see the doctors and ask for them to investigate further I think.

Yes it could be coeliacs. Keep giving gluten (a slice of bread a day will do, doesn't have to be a liaf per meal) and get a blood test. If it is negative then is the time to push for further referral/investigation (and you may wrll need to push). Good luck.

Quick update, docs have agreed there is something not quite right, urine sample clear so bloods booked for Thursday. Shame our local docs cant do it but booked into nearest hospital. Will let you know the results but thanks for all your advice. X

I hope it’s nothing serious. I’d want cancer ruled out if it was my daughter.

Just thought I'd update. Bloods have identified anaemia and slightly elevated vitamin B. Prescribed an iron tonic and more bloods in six weeks to check if there's been an improvement and that the vitamin b levels are stable. Still to keep a food diary. Hopefully the iron will sort things out.

Oh that is good...did they test for coeliac?

Yes, tested for all allergies and pretty much everything else!