Treatments for Celiac Disease

Treatment list for Celiac Disease:

The list of treatments mentioned in various sources for Celiac Disease includes the following list. Always seek professional medical advice about any treatment or change in treatment plans.

• Gluten-free diet - avoiding various foods including wheat, rye, barley, and oats.
• Vitamin supplements
• Mineral supplements
• Intravenous nutrition supplements - for severe cases not responding to the gluten-free diet.
• Copper - possibly used for related copper deficiency
• Vitamin A - to prevent vitamin A deficiency

Treatments of Celiac Disease: Online Medical Books

16 MEDICAL BOOKS ONLINE! Review excerpts from medical books online, free, without registration, for more information about the treatments of Celiac Disease.

Celiac disease: Treatment
(Professional Guide to Diseases (Eighth Edition))

Treatment requires elimination of gluten from the patient’s diet for life. Even with this exclusion, a full return to normal absorption and bowel histology may not occur for months or may never occur.

Supportive treatment may include supplemental iron, vitamin B₁₂, and folic acid; reversal of electrolyte imbalance (by I.V. infusion, if necessary); I.V. fluid replacement for dehydration; corticosteroids to treat accompanying adrenal insufficiency; and vitamin K for hypoprothrombinemia.

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Medical news summaries about treatments for Celiac Disease:

The following medical news items are relevant to treatment of Celiac Disease:

• Commonly confused celiac disease

Discussion of treatments for Celiac Disease:

Celiac Disease: NIDDK (Excerpt)

The only treatment for celiac disease is to follow a gluten-free diet--that is, to avoid all foods that contain gluten. For most people, following this diet will stop symptoms, heal existing intestinal damage, and prevent further damage. Improvements begin within days of starting the diet, and the small intestine is usually completely healed--meaning the villi are intact and working--in 3 to 6 months. (It may take up to 2 years for older adults.)

The gluten-free diet is a lifetime requirement. Eating any gluten, no matter how small an amount, can damage the intestine. This is true for anyone with the disease, including people who do not have noticeable symptoms. Depending on a person's age at diagnosis, some problems, such as delayed growth and tooth discoloration, may not improve.

A small percentage of people with celiac disease do not improve on the gluten-free diet. These people often have severely damaged intestines that cannot heal even after they eliminate gluten from their diets. Because their intestines are not absorbing enough nutrients, they may need to receive intravenous nutrition supplements. Drug treatments are being evaluated for unresponsive celiac disease. These patients may need to be evaluated for complications of the disease.

If a person responds to the gluten-free diet, the physician will know for certain that the diagnosis of celiac disease is correct.

The Gluten-Free Diet
A gluten-free diet means avoiding all foods that contain wheat (including spelt, triticale, and kamut), rye, barley, and possibly oats--in other words, most grain, pasta, cereal, and many processed foods. Despite these restrictions, people with celiac disease can eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods, including bread and pasta. For example, instead of wheat flour, people can use potato, rice, soy, or bean flour. Or, they can buy gluten-free bread, pasta, and other products from special food companies.

Whether people with celiac disease should avoid oats is controversial because some people have been able to eat oats without having a reaction. Scientists are doing studies to find out whether people with celiac disease can tolerate oats. Until the studies are complete, people with celiac disease should follow their physician or dietitian's advice about eating oats.

Plain meat, fish, rice, fruits, and vegetables do not contain gluten, so people with celiac disease can eat as much of these foods as they like. Examples of foods that are safe to eat and those that are not are provided below.

The gluten-free diet is complicated. It requires a completely new approach to eating that affects a person's entire life. People with celiac disease have to be extremely careful about what they buy for lunch at school or work, eat at cocktail parties, or grab from the refrigerator for a midnight snack. Eating out can be a challenge as the person with celiac disease learns to scrutinize the menu for foods with gluten and question the waiter or chef about possible hidden sources of gluten. Hidden sources of gluten include additives, preservatives, and stabilizers found in processed food, medicines, and mouthwash. If ingredients are not itemized, you may want to check with the manufacturer of the product. With practice, screening for gluten becomes second nature.

A dietitian, a health care professional who specializes in food and nutrition, can help people learn about their new diet. Also, support groups are particularly helpful for newly diagnosed people and their families as they learn to adjust to a new way of life. (Source: excerpt from Celiac Disease: NIDDK)

Facts and Fallacies About Digestive Diseases: NIDDK (Excerpt)

People with celiac disease should not eat any foods containing gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats, regardless of whether or not they have symptoms. In these people, gluten destroys part of the lining of the small intestine, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients. The damage can occur from even a small amount of gluten, and not everyone has symptoms of damage. (Source: excerpt from Facts and Fallacies About Digestive Diseases: NIDDK)

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