Coeliac disease
Overview
Coeliac disease is a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat gluten. This damages your gut (small intestine) so your body cannot properly take in nutrients.
Symptoms
Eating foods that contain gluten can trigger a range of gut symptoms, such as: diarrhoea, which may smell particularly unpleasantstomach achesbloating andfarting (flatulence)indigestionconstipation Coeliac disease can also cause more general symptoms, including: tiredness (fatigue)as a result of not getting enough nutrients from food (malnutrition)unintentional weight lossan itchy rash (dermatitis herpetiformis)problems getting pregnant (infertility)nerve damage (peripheral neuropathy)disorders that affect co-ordination, balance and speech (ataxia) Children with coeliac disease may not grow at the expected rate and may havedelayed puberty.
Causes
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune condition. This is where the immune system (the body's defence against infection) mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. In coeliac disease, the immune system mistakes substances found inside gluten as a threat to the body and attacks them. This damages the surface of the small bowel (intestines), disrupting the body's ability to take in nutrients from food. It's not entirely clear what causes the immune system to act this way, but a combination of genetics and the environment appear to play a part.