What is Celiac disease?
People with celiac disease cannot eat gluten. Gluten is a protein found mainly in wheat , rye and barley , but may also be in products that we use often like salad dressings, soy sauce, medicines, vitamins and even candies
When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the immune system, which is supposed to help protect the body against disease, reacts by harming the cells of the lining of the small intestine leading to atrophy of intestinal villi and may cause harm to other parts of the body also such as skin , bones and brain
Patients with celiac disease who do not take gluten out of their diet will keep harming their bodies. This can cause malabsorption, lower vitamins and minerals and can produce symptoms like loss of weight, diarrhoea, poor dentation, failure of growth in children, anaemia, skin rashes which don’t heal (dermatitis Herpetiformis), malaise, fatigue and generalised weakness
Celiac disease is a health condition of the small intestine that happens in 1 out of 100 people. Both dietary and genetic factors cause the disease
Celiac disease was first reported in India in 1966 by Walia et al in children and by Misra et al in adults
It is a lifelong health problem. It has been estimated that there are 6 to 8 million Celiac disease patients in India though only few thousands have been diagnosed and treated
Symptoms
People with celiac disease may have one, some or none of these symptoms. Having the symptoms below does not mean you have celiac disease, just as some patients with the disease may not show any symptoms.
- Diarrhoea (loose stool) or constipation (hard stool or trouble passing stools)
- Gas , bloating and pain that doesn’t go away
- Pale, foul-smelling or fatty stool.
- Weight loss or weight gain.
- Tiredness or low energy levels.
- Changes in behaviour; irritability in children.
- Tingling or numbness in the legs (from nerve damage).
- Bone or joint pain.
- Muscle cramps.
- Delayed growth in children.
- Pale sores inside the mouth
If you think you have celiac disease don’t stop eating gluten until you ask your doctor and get yourself tested
Getting Tested
- Blood Test – This is simple way for getting tested for celiac disease. Blood test is done when you are eating gluten. If blood test for celiac is positive your doctor may ask you to get done a endoscopy
- Endoscopy – Endoscopy is the best test to diagnose celiac disease. A long thin tube may be passed through your mouth and thin tissue pieces ( biopsy) may be taken from your small intestine.
Next Steps
- If you test positive for celiac disease your doctor will put you on life long gluten-free diet
- He will also instruct you to meet a dietician for a detailed dietary plan
- He may test you for deficiencies of vitamins and minerals and may treat accordingly
- Currently lot of research is going on to develop drugs for patients with celiac disease but none is available at present for clinical use
- Working together with your health-care team, you can make a treatment and nutrition plan just for you, to help control your symptoms and put you in charge of celiac disease