Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects the immune system of the host. It causes damage to the small intestine if the person ingests even a small crumb of something that contains the protein ‘gluten’. Gluten can be found in barley, oats, rye, and wheat. It is very common that people who have celiac disease don’t even know it. Worldwide, it affects 1 in 100 people and in the U.S. two and a half million people are undiagnosed and are very much so at risk. The longer you go without knowing you have the disease, it can cause an even high chance of not being able to reverse the damage done to the small intestine. When gluten is ingested into the body, for some peculiar reason the immune system registers the protein as something harmful to the …show more content…
First generation relatives, a parent, child, or sibling have a 1 in 10 chance of carrying the same gene. Even worse, those who have been diagnosed with one autoimmune disease is more prone to getting another disease. Depending on age, the chances of developing another immune disease ranges from 10.5% in the age range from two to four to 34% for those over 20.
When someone develops celiac disease, it's very difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be mistaken as GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). The typical symptoms for celiac disease is bloating, headaches, rapid weight gain, fatigue, nausea, diahhrea, and even vomiting. Acid reflux is also common between GERD and celiac disease, so is abdomnial pain, which is part of the reason why it gets misdiagnosed so often. This autoimmune disorder can not be cured but the one treatment that always prescribed is a complete gluten free diet. however, depending on some people they can ingest small amounts without much trouble but some can break into rashes and even go into anaphylacitc shock because of how severe their sensitivity is to the