Celiac Disease Symptoms
The classic celiac disease symptoms are diarrhea, anemia, and failure to thrive, but now doctors have begun to recognize that in both children and adults, a wide variety of other symptoms are also associated with celiac disease and gluten.
Anemia is a very common symptom of celiac disease. Why do anemia and celiac disease so often appear together? First, let’s review some basics about anemia.
Celiac disease can begin at any age, involve multiple organs, and in both children and adults can have extremely variable symptoms -- or there may be no obvious symptoms at all.
The National Institutes of Health warns of the following complications of celiac disease in patients who do not follow the gluten-free diet.
Autoimmune reactions to gluten can take the form of an extremely itchy, burning, stinging skin disease called dermatitis herpetiformis.
Studies have shown that untreated celiac patients have high rates of lactose intolerance. As their intestines heal on the gluten-free diet, however, their tolerance for lactose-containing foods improves.
People with celiac disease have higher rates of depression. Sometimes the gluten-free diet can help.
Short stature can sometimes be the only symptom of celiac disease. Research shows that children with short stature should undergo tests for celiac disease.
People with celiac disease are at high risk for osteoporosis. Learn the special issues associated with osteoporosis and celiac disease.
Because irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease share so many similarities, researchers recommend that everyone with irritable bowel syndrome be tested for celiac disease as well.
A relatively high rate of celiac disease has been reported in patients with alopecia areata, an autoimmune disease that affects the hair follicles.
Rarely, people with celiac disease do not improve in response to the gluten-free diet. This condition is called unresponsive celiac disease, or refractory disease.
