Making mistakes

What happens if I make a mistake and eat gluten by accident?

Following a life-long gluten-free diet is a learning process, not only for the person with coeliac disease, but also for their family and friends.

Learning to live with coeliac disease means that mistakes on the gluten-free diet can happen, especially in the early stages after diagnosis. 

The reaction to eating gluten varies between people. In some it may trigger symptoms that last several days, while others may not be aware of any symptoms at all.

Not everyone with coeliac disease gets severe symptoms on eating gluten, but their gut lining still becomes damaged.

Eating gluten in coeliac disease damages the gut, regardless of how severe your symptoms are.

However, an occasional mistake due to eating gluten by accident is unlikely to cause lasting gut damage.
 
Is there anything I can do to help cope with the symptoms?

After you have eaten gluten, there isn't really a lot that you can do to prevent or ease the symptoms. 

If you get diarrhoea or vomiting it's vital to keep yourself hydrated, so drinking enough fluid is essential.  Some people may find that taking an anti-diarrhoeal drug or paracetemol may help, but this depends on the individual.

The most important thing to do is to get back onto your gluten-free diet to try to prevent further symptoms.

If your symptoms are very severe or don't improve, you should discuss this with your doctor.