Coeliac disease is a life-long condition, caused by intolerance to 'gluten'
- a protein that occurs naturally in food staples such as wheat, rye, barley and oats. Four-year old Carly was diagnosed as having coeliac when she was 14 months, having been taken to her GP repeatedly with vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy. She was small for her age and 'failing to thrive'. Her stomach was distended and sensitive to the touch, and she had up to 15 nappy changes a day when her symptoms were at their worst.
Eventually it was suspected that Carly had coeliac. She had a blood test to detect antibodies to gluten and a faeces sample was sent for analysis of the fat content. Following positive results for both of these, Carly was referred to her local hospital for a jejunal biopsy under a light sedation.
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