Celiac Disease

Medicines usually are not needed to treat celiac disease. If you or your child has been diagnosed with this condition, your doctor may recommend taking a vitamin supplement that has iron and calcium. After you or your child is on a gluten-free diet, symptoms should get better within 2 or 3 weeks, nutrients should be absorbed more normally, and the small intestine should gradually heal.

Medicine is only needed if you or your child becomes seriously ill with celiac disease or if complications develop. Medicines will be given only long enough to correct these problems. Doctors may prescribe steroid medications to ease swelling in the intestine and to help it absorb nutrients better. But not all experts agree about the use of these medicines to treat celiac disease. Some complications, such as delayed growth, cannot be treated with medicine.