Signs Of Hirschsprung Disease

Slow Growth

It is fairly rare for a child to live for several years without a diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease. In conditions where the patient is a toddler or young child before signs of Hirschsprung's disease become apparent, they tend to experience slow growth. Slow growth is characterized by a lack of growth of the bones. Healthy children have rapidly expanding bones that result in increasing head size and height. Unfortunately, the Hirschsprung's disease can cause very subtle forms of malnutrition. Many children struggle to absorb nutrients properly, and some may not eat as vigorously as the average child because they feel discomfort when they are consuming liquids and foods. Even though a child may appear decently healthy, they will typically be in the lower percentiles for children of their age. They might look younger than other children or be much shorter and slimmer than their peers.