Celiac Disease And Pneumonia

[Mango04]

I could be imagining this but I think I've read that there's some sort of connection between celiac disease and pheumonia? Can anyone tell me more about this...

Thanks!

[georgie]

Is there ? I have had pneumonia 3x. First was when I was 11. Always a viral type that wiped me out for weeks.

[nikki-uk]

The pneumococcal vaccine can be recommended for coeliacs as they may suffer from spleen problems

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[hannahsue01]

I am 24 and have had pnemonia 3x. In 5th 8th and 12th grades. I had a shot after my epesode in 8th grade but still got it one more time leaving me gasping for air with a trip to the er and then admission. I donno if there is a link or not. It would be interesting to know though.

[trents]

The pneumococcal vaccine can be recommended for coeliacs as they may suffer from spleen problems

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I wasn't aware that celiac disease can predispose one to spleen problems. Anybody have a link for more info on that issue?

I have had pneumonia twice, once in my early 30's and again just a few weeks ago and I'm now 55. Neither case was particularly intense and I was over them quickly. This last time I wouldn't even have known it except for the pleurisy pain. I didn't even run a fever. Films showed I had a little lower left lobe infiltrate, though.

Steve

[tarnalberry]

I don't think there's a good understanding for the entirety of the mechanism of the relationship, but it's there.

[chrissy]

the incidence of IgA deficiency is higher in celiacs than it is in non-celiacs. maybe this has something to do with it??

[chgomom]

Well alot of us...have some degree of aspiration.....with the reflux some of us get in the middle of th enight particularly. which is why you might wake up and cough etc....

I dunno if anyone has that here...but some of my friends do...

[theprincess]

I get pnuemonia at LEAST two times a year. I wonder if the antibiotics have gluten in them....hmmm....

[2kids4me]

The connection is related to autoimmune disorders in general - because autoimmune disease is not fully understood. 1) Patients have an immune system that can be altered by conditions like a viral or bacterial infection (they can serve as a "trigger" for further immune difficulties 2) a person with an existing disease may get sicker with pneumonia than a person without immune disease.. (a diabetic will have loss of diabetic control because of a bacterial/viral illness, a celiac may get an exacerbation of neurologic or GI symptoms, etc)

Most people with a chronic illness are eligible for pneumoccal pneumonia shots if they choose.

There are over 60 different autoimmune conditions which would qualify as chronic and thus the person would be eligle for the vaccine. That's where celiac fits in.

Hope this helps

[mouse]

Yes Ashley, you have to ask about each med at the pharmacy to make sure there is not gluten in the pills you will be taking. Some pharmacies don't know the answer and you have to call the drug manufacture to find out. There are also some links on this forum to check the gluten safety of drugs. I have a couple of doctors that write two of the meds on the RX, with the first one being the preferred one. That way I can check and make sure that one of them is at least gluten free.

[chewymom]

Well alot of us...have some degree of aspiration.....with the reflux some of us get in the middle of th enight particularly. which is why you might wake up and cough etc....

I dunno if anyone has that here...but some of my friends do...

Oh uggh. Don't even tell me this. I have a son who had pneumonia once a month from age 6-14 months, when it was finally discovered that he was aspirating reflux into his lungs. He finally had surgery for reflux at 18 months. Now I'm wondering if he should be tested. I know eventually the whole family should be, but I just don't want to deal with this!!!

[Guest Kathy Ann]

Interesting information. 3 years ago I had a horrendous bout with pneumonia. 105 fever for days. It was the first time for me, but it was bad and came completely out of the blue. Took me a LONG time to get over it too.

[Mango04]

.

[2kids4me]

So they couldnt even tell if it was viral bacterial etc? Usually clincial history and xrays can at least put it into a general category.

For info on pneumonia:

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Atypical pneumonia due to Mycoplasma and Chlamydophila usually cause milder forms of pneumonia and are characterized by a more drawn out course of symptoms unlike other forms of pneumonia which can come on more quickly with more severe early symptoms. Mycoplasma pneumonia often affects younger people and may be associated with symptoms outside of the lungs (such as anemia and rashes), and neurological syndromes (such as meningitis, myelitis, and encephalitis). Severe forms of Mycoplasma pneumonia have been described in all age groups.

In up to 65% of cases, the organism (such as bacteria or virus) that is causing pneumonia is not identified even with testing.

Pneumonia is more likely to occur in people whose immune system is weakened by an existing illness, such as the flu, cancer, or AIDS, and in people with chronic conditions, such as sickle cell disease, heart disease, diabetes, kidney disease, asthma, chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), emphysema, or cystic fibrosis.

Since ingesting gluten may have caused physcial stress on the body it is possible that it made you more susceptible to any of the many organisms that can cause pneumonia. Many otherwise healthy people contract pneumonia every year with fall being the the most common time.

[GlutenFreeManna]

This is an old thread, but I wanted to bring this topic up again. Last month I had brochitus that now has turned into walking pneumonia. The same thing happened to me about four years ago. the only difference is four years ago I was not gluten free and I was in the hospital with full out pneumonia. This time I have been gluten free for ten months and the pneumonia is not bad enough to hospitalize me. I wonder if while my immune system is still compromised enough for me to get sick, it is slightly better than it was four years ago due to being gluten free. Has anyone been on the gluten free diet for many years (and used to get pneumonia often prior to going gluten free) noticed a decrease in the severity or number of cases they got the longer they were gluten free?

[MAasaMom]

I know this is an old thread...but my brother who has yet to be tested for celiac disease has had a number of bouts with pneumonia - the last of which landed him in the ICU. As a child I had chronic asthmatic bronchitis - and pneumonia a number of times...anemia, weird autoimmune eye problems, I could go on and on. In my 40's my resp. issues (never have been a smoker) started to haunt me...getting the flu vaccine on two separate years with a year in between lead to near pneumonia. Told my brothers to get tested for celiac-hopefully they will listen. We are all in and around the age that health issues start to crop up...I think my diagnoses and gluten-free diet led to my first healthy winter this past year in a long, long time. So yes, the immune system interference with celiac disease and who knows GS-gluten sensitivity as well can lead to a multitude of infection issues.

Bronchial pneumonia is listed on the UChicago list of disorders assoc. with celiac disease: Open Original Shared Link