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Food Allergy Or Celiac Disease - Do You Know the Difference?
Celiac disease (Coeliac
disease) is often misdiagnosed for many other diseases
owing to its similarities in symptoms with many not one disease. Among
these diseases, food allergy to gluten or wheat is one disease, which
is often, mistook for when it is actually a celiac patient. Celiac disease
often specifies to an autoimmune disorder triggered when gluten is consumed
by the individual.
So everyone is talking about gluten. But what is it? Gluten is a protein
that is specifically found in rye, barley and wheat. This is responsible
for causing the symptoms in celiac patients and patients with wheat allergy.
How can you identify between the symptoms and diagnose if it is gluten
sensitivity or wheat allergy?
Celiac Disease
Individuals can possess celiac disease for their entire lifetime, though
in dormancy, with its symptoms only showing up when triggered. Some of
the common triggers comprise of stress, surgery, trauma, pregnancy or
severe infection. The symptoms differ greatly among individuals. Most
common symptoms are
· Depression
· Heartburn
· Stomach pain
· Indigestion
· Nausea
· Bone and joint pains
· Chronic diarrhea
· Constipation
· Bloating
There are very few primary symptoms. If any of those persists for longer
time, it must be given immediate attention. Consult a physician as soon
as possible.
Wheat Allergy
Similar to celiac disease, the symptoms are many and vary among individuals.
The common ones are
· Swollen tongue or throat
· Bloating
· Dizziness
· Rash
· Sneezing
· Nausea
· Vomiting
Differences to be noted
While both wheat allergy and celiac disease
is triggered due to gluten, the way how the body responds to it differs
and hence to be noted. There are three key differences to be identified,
which are listed as follows.
· Antibodies – if a normal individual consumes gluten, it leads to an
allergic response. The body generates immunoglobulin E, which is a type
of antibody. If the celiac patient consumes gluten, their bodies would
alternatively produce immunoglobulin A (another type of antibody) along
with anti-tissue transglutaminase.
· Body’s response – when a patient with wheat allergy consumes wheat,
their body releases chemicals causing the body to indicate the symptoms
of wheat allergy. In contrast, when a celiac patient consumes wheat, the
body will respond and attack itself, thus damaging the small intestine
area.
· Response to drugs testing – most patients utilize histamine in some
form to treat their disease. But the drug does not lower the symptoms
in a celiac patient. In order to diagnose, the doctor uses a blood test
to identify if there are any of the above-specified antibodies produced
by the body or simply do a skin scratch test. A full examination is performed
initially, after which a blood test is done for detecting the presence
of antibodies immunoglobulin A or E, endomysial antibody and tissue transglutaminase
antibody. The final stage includes a gut biopsy, to look for the damage
created by the disease.
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