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Raising awareness of hidden disease
PERHAPS it's a sign of our celebrity-obsessed times that, very often, a disease is ignored until someone in the public eye is diagnosed with it.
This was very much the case with Coeliac disease. It only hit the headlines last month when Dr Chris Steele MBE, from the ITV show This Morning, revealed he had it.
Dr Steele, who for the past three years has been an ambassador for Coeliac UK, the national charity for people with the disease, is now leading the call for more publicity.
Not an allergy, the condition is an auto-immune disease which means sufferers are unable to process the protein gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye, often found as ingredients in everything from cake to gravy.
Every time they eat some form of gluten, the lining of the sufferer's intestine is damaged, which can lead to a range of symptoms including bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, anaemia, headaches, mouth ulcers and weight loss.
You'd think it would be easy to spot, but in fact the opposite is true, because of the plethora of symptoms.
Estimated to affect one per cent of the UK population (600,000 people), only 12.5 per cent are currently diagnosed.
This effectively means there are more than half a million people walking around with a disease which can, if not treated correctly with a strict no-gluten diet, lead to malnutrition, osteoporosis, infertility, multiple miscarriages and bowel cancer.
Dr Steele said: "I think I've been having symptoms of diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fatigue on and off for many years, but it wasn't until they got so bad recently that I did anything about it.
"I will be encouraging everyone with similar symptoms to see their GP and be tested, rather than suffering in silence."
He added: "I strongly support the need to raise awareness among the medical profession for diagnosing coeliac disease. It is often misunderstood and mis-diagnosed."
This is backed by Coeliac UK, on whose behalf he will hand in a petition to 10 Downing Street, highlighting the need for increased diagnosis of the condition.
The petition, signed by 8,783 people, asked the Government to introduce a target for diagnosis of the disease in the latest national GP contract.
Sarah Sleet, chief executive of the charity, said: "The disease was very poorly recognised for a long time. We hope doctors in the future will be in a better position to identify it."
As the condition is hereditary, it's also hoped that those with an affected relation will get mandatory testing.
Sarah added: "If you have been diagnosed with Coeliac disease, others in your family are more likely to have it too."
For further information, log on to the Coeliac UK website using this link.
CASE STUDY - CAROLE CLARK
Carole Clark, 62, a mum-of-three, from South Shields first found out about the disease 13 years ago when her daughter Sharon, 42, begun to have several symptoms.
"I thought she was anaemic. She bruised easily and was always tired."
After going for to see her GP, Sharon was sent for a blood test at South Tyneside District Hospital, where it was confirmed she had it.
She was told that from then on she would have to adhere to a strict gluten-free diet.
"The doctors also said any family members with similar symptoms should get tested."
Having suffered herself from tiredness, which she put down to "always being active" and excessive bruising, Carole went to see her doctor a few months later.
Contrary to what she'd wrongly believed, the disease doesn't always 'skip a generation' and she was diagnosed as having it too.
Also put on a gluten-free diet, she found the change in eating habits had a rather unexpected effect.
"I put weight on. I used to be 7st, but I think because of the change in diet I'm now eating the right kind of food. Before I'd just eat ordinary food which my body wouldn't process properly."
Though certain supermarkets now stock certain gluten-free food, they tend to be more expensive and she still gets much of her food from pharmacists.
"I get bread from the chemists. It's a family joke that I get all my groceries from there," she said.
As for anyone who thinks they might have the condition, she had this advice: "If you think you've got it, get the tests done at your GP and they'll refer you to the hospital.
"But you have to stick to your diet. If you don't you will have all kinds of bad reactions."
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Weather for South Shields
Friday 10 February 2012
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