Celiac Disease For Dummies
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Do you suspect that you or someone in your family has celiac disease and maybe you or they should give up gluten? Symptoms of undiagnosed or insufficiently treated celiac disease can vary greatly in their nature and number (including having no symptoms at all), but some symptoms are more common than others.

If you have one or more of the following symptoms — especially if persisting and/or severe — speak to your doctor about the possibility you that have celiac disease:

  • Gastrointestinal symptoms, especially

    • Diarrhea

    • Stools that are bulky, foul-smelling, and stick to the toilet bowl

    • Abdominal bloating, especially after meals

    • Indigestion, reflux, heartburn

  • Unexplained or unexpected weight loss

  • Small, intensely itchy, pinkish blisters on the elbows, knees, or buttocks (less often on the shoulders, scalp, face, and back). This may indicate a skin disease, very closely related to celiac disease, called dermatitis herpetiformis

  • In a child, failure to grow and develop normally

About This Article

This article is from the book:

About the book authors:

Ian Blumer, MD, is a specialist in internal medicine in Ontario, Canada and has an appointment with the University of Toronto. Dr. Blumer lectures across North America and appears regularly on television, radio, and other media. Sheila Crowe, MD, is a professor of medicine at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, specializing in digestive diseases including celiac disease. Dr. Crowe is named in "Best Doctors in America."

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