Celiac Disease

Treatment

Diet

A gluten-free diet is essential to managing celiac disease. Once you stop eating gluten, you are likely to stop having stomach pain and diarrhea.

It's important to be diagnosed by a doctor before starting a gluten-free diet. Eliminating gluten can change the test results so they appear to be normal.

Gluten is found in a wide range of foods. Mayo Clinic doctors and dietitians work closely with you to help you learn to live gluten free. Mayo dietitians help you find gluten-free substitutes and give advice on reading food labels and eating out safely. You may also be given vitamin and mineral supplements to correct nutritional deficiencies.

Follow-up care and medications

A Mayo Clinic study found that up to half of celiac patients don't heal completely even with a gluten-free diet. At Mayo, people with celiac disease are monitored closely for intestinal healing. When diet alone isn't effective, Mayo doctors prescribe medications (steroids and immune-system suppressors) to control intestinal swelling and malabsorption of nutrients.

Dermatitis herpetiformis

Some people with celiac disease also have an itchy, blistering skin rash called dermatitis herpetiformis. This condition can be diagnosed by special tests on the skin. It is treated with a drug (dapsone) and the gluten-free diet. At Mayo, dermatologists work closely with the celiac treatment team to diagnose and treat dermatitis herpetiformis.

Read more about the gluten-free diet on MayoClinic.com.