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Celiac disease is a disorder that is seen in the small intestine. It is normally seen in people from infancy onwards. The symptoms of celiac disease start at any age. They continue for a lifetime and are seen mostly in young children and infants. These people who show symptoms of celiac disease are seen to have problems in the bowel symptoms after consuming gluten containing cereals. They complain of severe diarrhea accompanied with a lot of voluminous stools. These stools float in the water. There is tremendous weight loss. It was in fact a belief that the celiac disease is normally seen only in children. It is understood now that the celiac disease symptoms are seen in almost everyone.
Celiac disease symptoms are now seen in almost any person today of any age, and is seen to continue for life. The disease is also seen manifesting in many organs. It is seen in children as well as in adults. The symptoms of celiac disease are not fixed. They are varied. Sometimes celiac disease symptoms don’t show up at all. The medical field does not really have a comprehensive symptom chart for detecting the disease. Thus it is seen that there are many who suffer from the sickness yet they are not able to find a diagnosis for their pain.
The symptoms of celiac disease are normally seen to vanish after the patient adheres to a diet which is not containing gluten. There are those rare conditions when the there is a complete damage to the intestines. This happen due to long term inflammation within. This is so bad that even the gluten free diet wouldn’t contribute to the betterment of the condition. At such times, the celiac disease symptoms are said to be unresponsive and are categorized as refractory celiac disease. AT such times, the symptoms are classified as :
- Gastro intestinal effects of celiac disease
- Malabsorbtion related symptoms of celiac disease
- Other symptoms of celiac disease
Gastro intestinal effects of celiac disease
These symptoms are normally seen to occur in people who complain of a stomach upset. These could be other gastrointestinal problems like stomach ulcers, Crohn’s disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and also irritable bowel syndrome. The major gastrointestinal symptoms of celiac disease include :
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Long term indigestion
- Long term bloating
- Lack of appetite
- Lot of pain in the abdomen
- Cramps in the abdomen
- A distention in the abdominal area
- Ulcers in the mouth
- Intolerance to lactose
It has been seen that when celiac disease is left untreated for a long time then the risk of the person landing with adenocarcinoma and lymphoma of the intestine is high. But we cannot entirely say that undetected celiac disease symptoms would necessarily be cancer. It has been seen that such patients after being put on a gluten free diet, have shows comparative improvement with considerable change in the initial symptoms of celiac disease shown.
Malabsorbtion Symptoms of Celiac Disease
Sometimes the small intestine is disabled in its ability to absorb the nutrients, minerals and the vitamins that are fat soluble. These include Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E and Vitamin K. The symptoms of malabsorption include :
- Loss of weight
- Children with dwarfed growth
- Lack of thriving
- A lot of fatigue
- Lack of hemoglobin
- Osteoporosis or osteopenia
- Deficiency of Vitamin K
- Abnormal coagulation
- Small intestinal bacterial growth
Other Symptoms of Celiac Disease
- Itchy Rash: There is a kind of rash that is termed as a gluten rash. This is also called dermatitis herpetiformis.
- Short stature of an unexplained kind
- Puberty that is delayed
- Infertility
- Miscarriage that is recurrent
- Abnormalities in dental enamel
- Endocrine disorders and other autoimmune disorders like diabetes and thyroid
- Depression and anxiety
- Peripheral neuropathy
- Ataxia
- Epilepsy
- Blood test showing abnormalities
- Abnormal serum chemistries
- Liver function tests showing elevation
- Blood protein levels with low serum
- Blood calcium levels with low serum
Thus the celiac disease symptoms do not have any typical way to be identified or recognized. Each celiac disease symptom is different from the other. Sometimes the symptoms of celiac disease manifest as something that is quite normal. These symptoms are many times easily missed. The doctors have to be alert and the patients aware enough to consider the mild pain endured as something important. This is seen mostly in patients who have multiple medical problems.
