The Doc Replies

Our expert answers your medical questions

What is coeliac disease and how is it diagnosed?

Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease which is caused by reaction of the gut to gluten. It happens when the immune system mistakes gluten as harmful and reacts against it as if it were fighting off a germ. It can cause damage to the small intestine, resulting in food and nutrients not being digested or absorbed as well.

In babies and children, symptoms of coeliac disease can be a failure to thrive – not growing, diarrhoea and pale stools. In adults, symptoms can be similar to irritable bowel, wind, bloating, mouth ulcers, weight loss and potentially anaemia because you are not able to properly absorb iron. It is diagnosed by a blood test which looks for relevant antibodies, and then you will usually be referred for an endoscopy which will take a biopsy of the small intestine.

If you have coeliac disease, you must have a gluten-free diet. You should stop eating things like pasta, bread, and cakes, other than special gluten-free alternatives, which are readily available nowadays.

Can you explain face blindness?

Face blindness is the inability to recognise faces. If to a severe degree, you might not be able to recognise yourself in the mirror, but more often it would be difficulty in recognising people you know. To help them, people with face blindness may try and remember a certain hair style, or voice or walk to help identify the person in front of them. You can be born with face blindness, or it can result from a stroke or head injury.

My toddler suffers ear pain on flights. What can I do about it?

This is a result of air pressure changes as the plane goes up and comes down. Pain occurs when the air pressure behind the ear drum is not same as it is in front of the ear drum. This is corrected by the eustachian tube, which is a little passage leading from the middle ear to the back of the throat, behind the nose. The tube is narrower in children and as they often have colds and such things, it can become clogged with mucous. For small children, drinking from a bottle or sucking on a dummy can help. In older children, eating a lollipop or drinking from a straw can help too.

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