Gastrointestinal
Especially during the first year of life, children with WBS syndrome often have difficult digestion. They eat poorly and even show an aversion to food. They often experience vomiting or cramps and sometimes have diarrhoea or constipation. The refusal to ingest food can be very pronounced. The problems usually disappear after the second year of life, although they remain very fussy eaters. Later in life, they often experience constipation and celiac disease (gluten intolerance). The problems are associated with elevated blood calcium levels. For this reason, a low-calcium diet is sometimes started. Often the children also have problems swallowing and chewing, leading to a preference for soft foods. This often leads to a one-sided and not very tooth-friendly diet. It is important to pay due attention to stimulating swallowing and chewing function from an early age.
Other symptoms and complaints that occur are:
- An increased risk of reflux (giving up stomach acid)
- An increased risk of colondiverticles. These are small bulges of the intestinal wall in the abdominal cavity. The main symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhoea, cramps, and changes in the bowel movement pattern
- An increased risk of rectal prolapse, in which part of the rectum bulges out through the anus. The main symptoms are constipation and loss of mucus and blood with the stools
- Leakage of thin stools past hard stools.
- Unable to hold up stools
- Pain during stool due to constriction of the mucous membrane when pushing
- An increased risk of haemorrhoids.
