Coeliac Diagnosis
Coeliac Diagnosis is notoriously hard to confirm as the symptoms of gluten intolerance vary in severity from person to person. In addition, knowledge of coeliac disease varies from doctor to doctor with the occasional missed diagnoses including being labelled as irritable bowel syndrome or a weak constitution.
This difficulty in coeliac diagnosis also means at identification of gluten intolerance can be made much later in life. Identification of the coeliac condition in young children is quite rare although we should sympathise with the medical community as other intollerances, for example lactose intollerance, can also exhibit symptoms very similar to coeliac disease.
Recently, a blood test for the antibodies produced when the body reacts with gluten has been developed. This is very sensitive and is proving to be a useful check on gluten intolerance. If a member of the family has been diagnosed with coeliac condition often the other members of the family will have a blood test to screen whether they appear to be gluten intolerant or have no reaction to the protein.
Absolute confirmation of coeliac condition is made through a biopsy of the small intestine. The body’s reaction to gluten results in the fine hairlike projections in the gut being flattened and ultimately eradicated. This reduces the body’s ability to absorb food and also provides a tell-tale marker of the presence of gluten intolerance. A biopsy, taking a small sample of the gut lining, will enable the medical examiner to review the sample under a microscope and observe the condition of the hairlike projections. The intestine of someone with coeliac condition has a very specific appearance and gives a precise diagnosis.
Diagnosis of gluten intollerance may initially seem to be the end of the world as, life as you know it, is thrown into turmoil. Coeliac diagnosis should not be viewed in this way. If you are diagnosed with coeliac condition the solution is to adopt a gluten free diet without delay, millions of people worldwide are successful in this from babies up to 100 years of age.
Coeliac diagnosis is becoming a more precise and represents the opportunity to improve your health as, now knowing the underlying cause of your ill-health, the gluten can be avoided with a little discipline and normal life and can resume.
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