could it be tea?

My 7 year old son was diagnosed with crohns last year. He currently takes mesalazine, 6mp and is taking 5ml of iron 3times a day as slightly anaemic. Recently he has been taking sore tummys ( which he doesnt suffer with normally). Most nights after his dinner he has a cup of tea and some biscuits and i have noticed his tummy starts gettin sore. Could it be the tannins in the tea? ive recently changed him to lactose free milk too as his tum was sore after milk too( with normal semi skimmed milk).  All trial and error i guess aswell tho. xx I thought it could be the iron too but he has been taking it for 2 weeks now. x

Caffiene can be upsetting for some, so possibly it could be the tea. Hugs!

He takes his iron morning, after breakfast, after school then again before bed. He also ate banana, maybe he just ate too much as he had dinner, banana, cup of tea and biscuits!!!! appetite good!!

Caffeine is a problem for me too but I love my tea so I now drink herbal decaf tea such as lemon or peach which seems to sit nicely on my tummy!

My GI says absolutely no caffeine with this disease.

I can't do any milk even soy or the replacements. Also, less food at once seems to work better for me. Could he bypass the snack after dinner? Poor kiddo.

It is not about intolerance. We all need iron, but as a supplement it is more like sandpaper for your gut and can leave nasty scars behind... and I really don't think there's anyone out there who can take it 3 times a day without problems later in life.

Just like Brannah I can't even smell bananas and escape without being punished for it.

Post Edited (Ari12) : 1/19/2011 11:55:25 PM (GMT-7)

Tea, like a lot of things, can be best taken in moderation. I find that I get an increase in pains if I have too many cups in a day, especially if I'm not feeling great anyway.

Another thing to consider is that it may not be a good idea for him to be having tea after dinner, as this might inhibit his sleep. Sleep is an important part of healing at any age, and a young lad like your son will need as much of it has he can get.

If he needs a hot drink after dinner, he might enjoy having something like mint or chamomile tea, as both can have a soothing effect on the tummy. I'd be inclined to start with mint, as this is a flavour that kiddies might enjoy more than chamomile. Similarly, if he can cope with milk, he might like having a warm milk, or a warm milk and honey, or similar.

Finally, if he is coping with tea during the rest of the day and only having biscuits for supper, it's possible that the biscuits might be the culprits instead. What sort of biscuits are they?

All the best to you and your little boy. I'm always sad when I hear of young children having to cope with this illness: it's hard enough to be sick in one's teens, let alone in childhood.

Ivy.

I think it's more likely to be an overload of food... I'm kind of hesitant to recommend this for a child, but one way to find out would be to try a smaller dinner for a day. Or replace dinner with a liquid supplement. (And leave out the biccies and tea afterwards.)

Even if that helps your child's tummy, it won't be the answer if it cuts out too many calories or leaves your child feeling genuinely hungry (as opposed to wanting biscuits, chocolates, sweets a lá most children in general). If your child can't meet his daily calorie requirement without his stomach hurting, I would say that the Crohn's isn't being controlled sufficiently.