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Hi, All,

    Our 4-yr old celiac son has been complaining that his thumbs hurt over the past couple of months.  He has pain in the tops of his thumbs, usually both thumbs at once, but sometimes one or the other.  He screams and cries like crazy for about 5-10 minutes and then the pain seems to go away.  It happens 3-4 times a day lately, usually around meal time or nap time or bed time.  There are no visible abnormalities with his thumbs -- they don't look extra red or blue or swollen, and it is not from nail biting or thumb sucking because he doesn't do either.  I took him to his pediatrician today and he referred him to a pediatric neurologist, but who knows when we can get an appointment with her.

    Our son also had open heart surgery at age 1 and inguinal hernia repair surgeries at age 3, although I don't think these are related to the thumb pains.  Other than those surgeries and celiac, he is quite a healthy looking kid since being diagnosed with celiac disease in March.  People can never believe that he is a walking medical problem.

    Just curious if anyone else out there has experienced major thumb (or finger) pains and has been diagnosed, or if anyone has any advice.  We offer "boo boo cubes" (blue ice cubes) which probably takes his mind off of it a bit, although I don't think it really helps.  I've also tried massaging his thumb tips, which doesn't seem to help either.  The pediatrician suggested trying giving him iboprofen every 6 hours, but I'd rather wait until it gets completely unbearable.

                Thanks much and take care,
                Mary (also a celiac) in Charlotte, NC

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