Is Gluten Allergy Same As Celiac Disease?

[jillmp74]

I just found out that my 10 year old daughter is allergic to gluten. She had a scratch test in kindergarten and we were told that she was allergic to all tree nuts. I recently found out that I am allergic to dairy, egg, and peanuts so I wanted to find out through a blood test if we missed any of her allergies. As of right now we know her highest numbers were to gluten, egg whites, cashews, and spelt. The doctor is going to send me a copy in a week. I'm not an alarmist so I wasn't surprised. My daughter is head and shoulders tinier than everyone else in her class and weighs about 45 lbs., she has asthma, and psoriasis. She always has some kind of cold. She is also very athletic and smart. I am also small (5 feet) so the small stature may not necessarily be a symptom. At her last well check her Dr. said that if she didn't start growing soon we would need to do tests. At the time I didn't understand. I have 3 other children, none with the allergies she has. If anyone has advice for me on going gluten free for her or any other advice please let me know. Thanks!

[Tim-n-VA]

Short answer is that a gluten allergy is when the body mistakenly attacks the gluten consumed and the histamines used in the attack irritate the surrounding tissue. With celiac, consuming gluten causes the immune system to "think" it needs to attack the body - usually in the small intestines but symptoms can appear other places.

The treatment to both gluten allergy and celiac is the same - gluten free diet.

That is the basic difference. Others here can get into much more technical factors if you want.

[jillmp74]

Short answer is that a gluten allergy is when the body mistakenly attacks the gluten consumed and the histamines used in the attack irritate the surrounding tissue. With celiac, consuming gluten causes the immune system to "think" it needs to attack the body - usually in the small intestines but symptoms can appear other places.

The treatment to both gluten allergy and celiac is the same - gluten free diet.

That is the basic difference. Others here can get into much more technical factors if you want.

Thanks, that is very helpful!