Celiac disease is a medical condition that can make life very challenging, especially since it can be so hard to detect this condition. This mysterious medical condition has over 200 known symptoms and indications can vary for each person. The condition can be developed at any point in your life. Many obtain celiac disease as children while others won’t start to struggle with the conditions until adulthood and no one does know how or why the condition occurs.
How Is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?
The condition often goes undiagnosed because it is so challenging to detect. Some people with celiac disease have hardly any symptoms at all while others can suffer a great deal from various symptoms at once. The best thing you can do to identify the disease is to get a blood test or intestinal biopsy done.
The World Gastroenterology Organization also states that celiac disease can be classical or non-classical.
Classical celiac disease – Patients show mild symptoms of malabsorption, weight loss, slow growth, and gastronomical issues.
Non-classical celiac disease – The symptoms can be mild to extreme. Patients can suffer from any number of symptoms and the condition can affect their life quality.
Silent celiac disease – This is a type of asymptomatic celiac disease where patients do not experience any apparent symptoms yet damage still occurs to their small intestine. These patients experience health improvements after going on a gluten-free diet and report reduced reflux and abdominal bloating.
The Symptoms of Celiac Disease?
As said before; this medical mystery has over 200 symptoms and these symptoms are a lot more apparent in children and infants. Here is a quick look at the main symptoms of celiac disease:
- Abdominal pain
- Bloating
- Chronic diarrhoea
- Vomiting
- Constipation
- Foul-smelling and pale stool
- Iron-deficiency or anaemia
- A loss of weight
- Fatigue
- Irritability ad behavioural problems
- Defective on dental enamel of permanent teeth
- Puberty could be delayed
- Growth can be delayed
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
- Difficulty in losing weight
- Early menopause
- Unexplained infertility
- Depression and anxiety
It is important to realise that the symptoms of celiac disease can be quite different for adults. This is because long-term malnourishment results in lots of related medical conditions or symptoms such as the following:
Bone or joint pain
Arthritis
Osteoporosis
Liver and biliary tract disorders
Peripheral neuropathy
Seizures
Migraines
Missed or delayed menstrual periods
Cancer sores
Itchy skin rashes
Treatment for Celiac Disease
At present, there is no cure for celiac disease. The disease can only be managed by following a strict gluten-free diet. This is because gluten found in food sources affects the small intestine in your body negatively and causes inflammation.
When the small intestine doesn’t function well, your digestive tract is hugely affected, your body’s ability to absorb nutrition is hindered and your body and organs will start to suffer in the long run. When your body isn’t exposed to gluten, your intestines won’t’ become enflamed and everything will function as normal.
Most celiac disease sufferers experience improvement within the first weeks of following the diet although it should be noted that even small quantities of gluten can affect your health a great deal.
Should You Follow A Gluten-Free Diet?
It is always best to run some professional tests before you decide to avoid gluten. Professional celiac disease diagnosis can help you abide by your strict diet much better where self-diagnosis could result in constant cheating by consuming gluten-rich foods.
There is, however, no harm in following a gluten-free diet. Alternative food sources are just as healthy as gluten-rich baked treats, especially if you buy from a reliable source like Gluten Free 4 U and giving this diet a try for a few months is a good way to detect silent celiac disease.