If you have experienced the signs of coeliac disease and are waiting for a diagnosis, you might wonder what the harm will be if you have a crumb of gluten in the short term. It can’t hurt you too much can it? Alternatively, you might have accidentally eaten gluten. For someone with coeliac disease, the short term effects of eating gluten can vary from person to person, however it’s vital that you make every effort to avoid eating even trace amounts of gluten in order to keep your body healthy in the long term.

Let’s take a look at what happens when you ingest gluten as a coeliac, and what you can do about it.

There are a few reasons why you might have been ‘glutened’. You may have thought that a small amount of gluten, as a one-off, was harmless and taken the risk. Alternatively, you may have unintentionally eaten something with gluten in it, due to cross-contamination despite you being very careful with what you’ve chosen to eat, or where friends and family have cooked using ingredients with gluten by mistake when providing you with food.

What happens if you ingest gluten as a coeliac?

If you eat anything with gluten in it, whether accidentally or deliberately, as a coeliac, the following symptoms may present quite quickly:

• You may suffer headaches
• You may begin to vomit
• You may suffer with brain fog
• You may experience excessive wind and diarrhoea
• Your stomach may bloat, causing pain

As you have been diagnosed coeliac, you should understand that these symptoms are a sign that your immune system is attacking your intestines. Even the smallest amount of gluten can cause these negative reactions in people who shouldn’t be eating anything with gluten present.

What should you do if you ingest gluten?

If the worst has happened and you are suffering from signs of coeliac disease after ingesting gluten, the following are steps you should take immediately:

• Drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated
• If suffering from stomach pains and cramps, settle down with a hot water bottle to help relieve some pain
• Rest and recuperate, be easy on yourself and take the time out to fully rest and recharge

How to avoid being ‘glutened’

It is important that you are vigilant moving forward when it comes to potentially ingesting gluten. The last thing you want is to suffer again with coeliac symptoms. There are a few things that you can do to help minimise the prospect of ingesting gluten:

• Educate your friends and family about coeliac disease so they understand the safety measures they need to take when preparing food for you
• Maintain a strict gluten free diet, utilising gluten free prescriptions if you have coeliac disease
• Be extra careful about cross-contamination
• Check labels thoroughly when buying ingredients and products in the supermarket

For those who have recently received a coeliac disease diagnosis, it is important that you understand what happens when you are ‘glutened’. Ingesting any form of gluten can cause problems, and knowing what you can do in the short term and how to plan better in the long term will help you to prevent eating gluten accidentally and know what to do if you happen to ingest gluten Knowing what to do when you do have some gluten will make your life much easier in the long term, alleviating symptoms and recovering as fast as possible.