Introduction
Alison Boulter once remarked, “Always remember you’re unique. Just like everyone else”. Nevertheless, this philosophical musing makes itself apparent in almost every facet of human’s life, one of which being the human body and its health. It has merely become a matter of fact that every human is unique, and that is where our greatest similarity lies when it comes to what we like and dislike, how we think, and so on and so forth.
Celiac Disease, and the symptoms leading to its diagnosis from case to case, also follows this principle. Since celiac disease can occur in varying degrees of severity that can afflict a person, with the gluten part of wheat of course playing the role of the villain, it is perhaps not possible to zero in on the exact symptoms.
However, preparing a list of generalized symptoms based on the medical cases that have been diagnosed successfully so far, does serve the purpose of identifying this autoimmune disease with the distinct possibility of mistaking it for gastrointestinal diseases such as stomach ulcers, Crohn's disease, inflammatory bowel disease.
However, with the dedicated work that has gone into research, a list of 35 symptoms and several complications have been established that indicate links to the presence of celiac disease.
Symptoms of Celiac Disease
Now, from research so far, a few things remain certain and that has been found common for those afflicted with celiac disease.
The disease:
- Can begin at any age
- Will persist for life
- Can involve and affect multiple organs
- May have varied symptoms or no symptoms at all
- Will always disappear once the patient follows a gluten-free diet
So, now let us look at the types of symptoms that are regularly associated with celiac disease:
a. Digestive Symptoms
- Diarrhea
- Abdominal Pain
- Abdominal Bloating
- Pale stool
- Foul-smelling stool
- Flatulence
- Pallor
- Weakness
b. Behavioral Symptoms
- Depression
- Irritability, particularly in children
c. Inadequate Nutrition Symptoms
- Weight Loss
- Delayed growth
- Failure to thrive
- Anemia
- Fatigue
- Missed Menstrual periods
d. Unclassified symptoms
- Gas
- Bone pain
- Joint pain
- Seizures
- Muscle Cramps
- No symptoms
- Ambiguous symptoms
- Tingling (in the legs from nerve damage)
- Numbness (in the legs from nerve damage)
- Mouth sores
- Skin Rash
- Dermatitis Herpetiformis
- Tooth discoloration and enamel loss
- Miscarriages
Conclusion
Strangely enough, with the symptoms taking on several forms as mentioned earlier, that have been discovered due to the advances made in medicine and meticulous research, the only way to find relief from these symptoms is to stay on a gluten-free diet despite the wild claims that have been made to finding a cure through alternative or conventional methods.
This tells us two things:
1) Modern medicine despite its advances in science and technology has its limitations
2) And perhaps, prevention is always better than cure
And maybe, as simple as it sounds, prevention seems to be the easier way regardless of the symptoms!
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