Question

Do you know anyone that has Celiac Disease or is limiting gluten in their diet? Should there be routine testing for Celiac Disease?

Answer 1

Celiac disease is the type of disease which is a serious autoimmune disease in which it is seen that if an individual takes gluten in their diet it leads to damage to the small intestine, these type of individuals are genetically predisposed to gluten ingestion that causes damage to the small intestine.

in this disease when an individual takes gluten, a kind of protein that is found mainly in barley, wheat, etc, the immune response attacks to the cells and the villi of the small intestine, villi is the projection which is seen fingers and helps in absorption of the food into the body, when villi get damaged the nutrient from the food cannot be absorbed in the body.

the celiac disease sometimes runs in family and it runs from one generation to another, and it can be developed at any point of life or at any age of life, if left untreated it can lead to more serious health problems.

The common symptoms that can be seen in people with celiac disease are

malabsorption,

malnourishment

diarrhea

constipation,

weight loss

late puberty,

vomiting, etc.......

As per the question, the routine test for celiac disease is not advised unless symptoms are seen in people with celiac disease or else they are at the risk of developing symptoms associated with the celiac disease.

IF AN INDIVIDUAL SHOWS SYMPTOMS THEN CERTAIN TESTS ARE RECOMMENDED SUCH AS

1. BLOOD TEST

in this procedure, the blood is withdrawn from the body of the individual and it is sent for detection of antibodies that are usually present in the blood of a patient with celiac disease.

to perform this procedure an individual is advised to include gluten in his diet to get a positive result, absence of gluten in the individual diet can give a false result.

if the blood tests show the presence of antibodies then it is further sent for biopsy to confirm.

if the blood test is negative but the patient shows symptoms like a celiac disease then also the individual is sent for biopsy to confirm.

2. BIOPSY

a biopsy is performed with the help of an endoscope by a gastroenterologist in a hospital setting, a small sample from the small intestine is removed and sent for microscopic examination to detect for the signs of celiac disease.

Prevention from celiac disease.

1. avoid gluten-free diet such as bread, pasta, wheat, etc.

2. add a nutrient supplement to the diet such as milk, fish, meat potatoes, etc.

3. some vaccines like Hib, influenza is given when the spleen is affected.

4.vitamins, minerals, and other supplements like iron are given to the patient.

to avoid any type of complication related to the celiac disease can be prevented by taking proper care at the time and by doing modification in diet.