Biocard Home Test

[nvsmom]

Someone was asking about the reliability of the Biocard home test but I can't remember who...

I took the test after eating more gluten for about 2 weeks (I usually ate "gluten lite"). I only got about 75% of the blood needed for the test but it gave me a very faint positive. So faint that if you were in very dim lighting you could barely see it.

It tests for tTg IgA.

I had blood work done almost two weeks after that and got a positive EMA and tTg IgA ( >200 when normal is 0-20).

I think the test is pretty accurate. I'm guessing I would have found a darker line for a positive test if I'd managed to squeeze out enough blood.

Health Canada and Canadian Celiac Association both endorse it's effectiveness.

Nicole S

[peacefirst]

Thank you for sharing. So it wouldn't work for person who ate gluten free for over a month then? Some websites say, that anitbodies are not made after 3-6 months of gluten free diet, but this test might be weaker than the one in the office.

[nvsmom]

Thank you for sharing. So it wouldn't work for person who ate gluten free for over a month then? Some websites say, that anitbodies are not made after 3-6 months of gluten free diet, but this test might be weaker than the one in the office.

I don't know if it would still be accurate for someone who had been gluten-free for over a month or not. I suppose it depends on how long you've had celiac and how well the antibodies stay in your blood stream.

I don't know if this test is weaker than the ones in the office. I had a very weak positive with biocard but that could have been due to the fact that I did not collect enough blood for the test; I definitely did not get the amount of blood that you are supposed to collect. BUT, like a pregnancy test, a positive is a positive when it comes to the Biocard test. I found some useful online photos of various positive tests used on nurses to see what they would consider positive. Many nurses (incorrectly) claimed the faint line was negative where as if you can see that second line, then it's considered positive for celiac... You'd have to google it since I'm afraid I didn't keep track of that.

Eating gluten prior to the test is the only way to be sure you are not getting a false negative.

Best wishes.

[Will29]

Hi, I took one of these when gluten free (for two weeks) and got negative, I took another two weeks back on gluten and got a negative again, is it likely then that I am gluten intolerant and not celiac?