WAVE 3 TV Louisville, KY | Intestinal Disorder Leaves Children Unable To Eat Solid Food

Intestinal Disorder Leaves Children Unable To Eat Solid Food

By Lori Lyle

(CINCINNATI) -- It's not uncommon for some children to be allergic to some foods. But imagine being a child and being allergic to most foods. It's known as an Eosinophil-associated Gastrointestinal Disorder or EGID, and it's a problem for a growing number of kids, as the number of cases grow at an alarming rate. WAVE 3's Medical Reporter Lori Lyle has more.

Most of the time Charlie Mays is just like any other 5-year-old boy. He loves playing games with his mom, but when it's time to eat, Charlie faces challenges most kids will never experience.

His mom, Beth Mays, says "he was sort of sickly with infections and spit uppity as an infant, but at about 12 months, he started throwing up regularly. He got to a point where he was projectile vomiting from 10 to 20 times a day."

Charlie suffers from an Eosinophil-associated Gastrointestinal Disorder. He and a growing number of children like him, have an allergic reaction when they ingest certain foods, resulting in symptoms like diarrhea, vomiting, pain or growth problems.

Ross Products has a special hypoallergenic elemental formula called Elecare that gives such children nourishment -- and hope.

Charlie must get his nutrition through a tube that pumps the formula directly into his stomach.

Dr. Marc Rothenberg explains why. "When we find out that an individual is allergic to the vast majority of foods that are typically in their diet then we have to resort to ... formulas that are free of proteins, which are the main allergens."

Unfortunately, EGID is often misdiagnosed as Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease, and doctors say tens of thousands of people in the U.S. probably have this have this medical problem, and most of them have probably gone undiagnosed, suffering for a number of years.

And as the number of diagnosed children grows, so does the urgency to find a cure.

But until scientists can do that, children like Charlie will have to rely on a simple formula for life.

Five years ago, researchers had trouble finding 30 patients to conduct a study. Today more than 400 children have been diagnosed at Cincinnati Children's Hospital alone.