Should my son (eight) have a colonoscopy?

Question

He was sick for about a month and they could not find anything; MRI was negative. They want to do a colonoscopy now. Is the likely reward worth the discomfort. They are looking for inflammatory bowel disease.

Answer 1

Firstly, the doctor should exclude cancer of the colon. colorectal cancer in children is rare and usually occurs in adults over 40 years. the exclusion of many other disorders can be confirmed by colonoscopy, namely ulcerative colitis, crohns disease and celiac disease. these are collectively known as inflammatory bowel disease. by means of blood testing, celiac disease can be excluded by testing antglidan antibodies. it is unlikely that your son has IBD. however, by doing the colonoscopy, it will put ypur mind at ease and it is a sure definite way of confirming a diagnosis. if all else turns up negative, ypur son will be diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (spastic colon)

hope i helped:)

Answer 2

Colonoscopy in children is almost always done with sedation adequate to negate any pain or discomfort.

Although colonoscopy is a very safe procedure, it is not recommended lightly. Your doctor should have a good reason for doing it.

Answer 3

MRI looks for soft tissue, maybe for a tumor or something. The doctors have decided that it is not an abnormal growth because MRI come out clean. The next step is to see if there is any inflamation. If they are looking for a small inflamed spot in his colon, it would certainly be alot easier to see it with a colonoscopy, therefore reducing the risk of mis-diagnosis. I say go for it!