COELIAC DISEASE – DIAGNOSIS
While the diagnosis may be suspected from the symptoms, it can be confirmed by taking a biopsy from the bowel. This involves removing a small piece of the bowel wall and examining it under the microscope. Once the gluten has been eliminated from the diet, a repeat biopsy should show the appearance of the bowel has returned to normal.
Elimination of gluten from the diet will usually produce improvement within a few days but it may take up to a year for the child to fully regain normal health.
Parents of children or adults with this disorder need the advice of a dietitian to plan proper meals which are fully nourishing. There is a Coeliac Society which can give advice in planning meals and playing a supportive role to sufferers and their families.
It needs to be stressed that parents whose children have similar symptoms to those I have listed as occurring in coeliac disease should not assume that this may be the cause and place their children on a gluten-free diet without proper diagnosis being made.
If this is done without proper advice, the diet chosen may be inadequate in all the necessary factors and result in further malnutrition.
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