• Hirschsprung's Disease is a congenital condition that is seen primarily in babies and children.Medical care image by JASON WINTER from Fotolia.com
  
  Hirschsprung's Disease is a condition that affects the colon and makes it difficult for a patient to pass stool. The condition occurs when some sections of the colon are missing nerve endings that affect the ability of the muscles to move stool through the intestines. The condition is congenital and symptoms can occur in infants, but they may occur when the child reaches the teenage years, according to the Mayo Clinic.
  
  

Newborn Symptoms

• Symptoms of Hirschsprung's Disease often present in the first few days of life, according to the Mayo Clinic. The early symptoms of the disease include the newborn's failure to pass a first stool within two days of life or diarrhea. Newborns may also have a distended abdomen with diarrhea, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford. They may also vomit bile, a greenish fluid produced by the liver.
  
  Intestinal blockage may occur with this disease in newborns. Twenty-five percent of intestinal blockages in newborn babies are caused by Hirschsprung's Disease, according to the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford.
  
  

Symptoms in Children

• The symptoms of Hirschsprung's Disease may not present until the child is older. These children will suffer from difficulty in gaining weight, diarrhea, weight loss, colon infections and a swollen abdomen, according to the Mayo Clinic. Children with Hirschsprung's Disease may not absorb nutrients properly, which leads to a failure to grow and thrive.
  
  The severity of the symptoms depends on the amount of colon that is affected. Children with only a small amount of missing nerve cells in the colon will suffer from fewer symptoms.
  
  

Adult Symptoms

• Adults may suffer from the same symptoms as older children along with chronic constipation and anemia. Surgery is the only treatment effective for this disease, according to the Mayo Clinic. The section of intestine that lacks nerve cells is removed and the healthy portions of the intestine are connected together.