Symptoms of Celiac Disease in Adults

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Celiac disease is an unpleasant disease which manifests within the small intestine and can occur in both adults and children. Undigested food from the stomach empties into the small intestine where normally the digestion process commences. When a person has celiac disease, this process is compromised.

Celiac disease is a relatively common disease which attacks and damages the lining to the small intestine; this in turn leads to a malabsorption of nutrients from your diet which are needed to ensure optimal health. This malabsorption is due to an allergic (immunological) reaction to gluten which can be found in many types of food stuff such as wheat, barley, rye and specific types of oats. Because of the malabsorption, the amount of nutrients required to keep the body fit and active are vastly reduced leading to vitamin and mineral deficiencies in the body.

There are various symptoms relating to celiac disease, and they include diarrhoea, weight loss, excessive flatulence, iron deficiency anaemia, excessive tiredness, pain to joints and bones and steatorrhea.

Steatorrhea or steatorrhoea is the presence of excess fat in faeces and is a classic symptom of celiac disease. The stools are very pale in colour and have a tendency to float due to an excess of lipids within the faeces. They can also be extremely foul smelling. Due to the excessive fat/oil content there is also the possibility of some faecal incontinence which can be very distressing.

Some adults with celiac disease may only present with symptoms of abdominal swelling/bloating, discomfort and or excessive wind, in these cases, it is sometimes difficult to obtain a definite diagnosis, in these cases a small intestinal biopsy is often taken to prove the presence of celiac disease. Specific blood tests such as endomysial antibodies, anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies, and anti-gliadin antibodies, these also effectively prove the presence of Celiac disease.

Other signs and symptoms to look out for in some cases of celiac disease include
* Unexplained weight loss
* Bony tenderness
* A change in mood such as anxiety or depression
* Muscular cramps
* Infertility problems
* Tingling and numbness to limbs (occurs due to nerve damage)
* Seizures
* Mouth ulcers
* Damage to teeth
* Missed menstrual periods
* Skin rashes

There is also a risk of miscarriage or birth defects in undiagnosed/untreated pregnant women as the foetus is unable to receive the nutrients needed to sustain a healthy pregnancy.

There is no actual cure for celiac disease; however it can be managed very effectively by embarking on a gluten free diet, if adhered to correctly, an improvement in symptoms can be seen in as little as 48 hours. If a person with celiac disease doesn’t respond to a gluten free diet, then it’s usually because they are non-compliant with the diet. The diet has to be very strict as the presence of gluten in any form can instantly cause symptoms to reoccur.

If left undiagnosed and untreated, celiac disease can lead to a person suffering from malnutrition with its accompanying complications. These include problems such as Anaemia and weight loss with an accompanying lowering of resistance to infection etc leading to further disease. Malnutrition is a serious problem and can in severe cases even lead to death.

The prevalence of celiac disease is relatively common in western countries ranging from 1-100 in some European countries to a suggested 1-3000 in North America. However it has been suggested that these figures could be underestimated due to the fact that many people do not develop their symptoms until later in their life and that the figure for North America could be on a par with that in Europe.